


Chronicles From the Order of Stars

by Xomniac



Category: Bleach, D.Gray-man, Fairy Tail, Fullmetal Alchemist, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Mahou Sensei Negima!, Naruto, One Piece, Soul Eater
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 09:23:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 46,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1813372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xomniac/pseuds/Xomniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Good and evil have always been in conflict. Ten heroes from different worlds, as well as their allies, will join the war between the opposing sides, following their predecessors' steps. Multi x-over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Prologue, Naturally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, One Piece, Inuyasha, Bleach, Soul Eater, D.Gray-Man, Fairy Tail, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Fullmetal Alchemist, Negima! Magister Negi Magi, or any other previously licensed book, show, or movie. The only things that I do own are my ideas and my original characters.
> 
> Author’s Note: Welcome readers one and all to my fanfiction. My name (as far as you know) is Xomniac, and I am an amateur writer.
> 
> For years now I have been fantasizing about this story, and now I have summoned up the courage to lay my dreams bare before the world. This is the first story I have ever written, and most likely it will be the last (or maybe not, but we’ll see, we’ll see.) Nonetheless, I would appreciate it if you would all leave me with as much advice and as many comments and/or suggestions as you can.
> 
> Before I begin, I would like to thank my beta-author HTM for helping me muster the courage to do this and for being a very helpful partner in this story’s development; I would also like to thank my mother Leslie and my step-father Leo for being so supportive of my story.
> 
> Anyway, without further ado, I ask that you perform the three simple tasks that all authors on this website want their readers to do:
> 
> READ! REVIEW! ENJOY!

**-o-**  

_Ever since the beginning of all existence, as long as there has been sentient life in the multiverse, throughout every single calamity, disaster, or tremendous upheaval of the 'natural order', the one sole constant in it all has been conflict. War, genocide, disagreement, all of these and more have been around since anything ever existed. And all of these conflicts can, one way or another, be boiled down to two things: Good and Evil._

_No matter the event, no matter the time or place, these two forces have always existed, and have always opposed each other on every front. Though the line between them may stretch, and at times become nearly indiscernible, it is forever present, forever separating the two into opposing factions._

_The war between Good and Evil, forever present yet most often invisible to the naked eye, has raged ceaselessly for as long as there have been soldiers to fight it. And throughout this invisible war, there have been representatives of both sides, those who bear the standards of their factions and ride to battle._

_There have been many soldiers, many societies and gatherings and organizations that have worked for either side. This story is about the greatest supporters of Good that have ever existed. This story tells of the greatest generation that this order of justice has ever known._

_Each member of this generation has their own reason for fighting in a war that they most likely will never see the conclusion of._

**-o-**

_Some fight because of events outside their control…_

In the middle of the night, in a large village hidden inside a forest in a destitute apartment, a pair of blue eyes snapped open, shock at waking up clearly evident within them.

The owner of the eyes sat up suddenly, arms flailing, gasping for breath. When he finally calmed down, he was sitting up in bed panting heavily, hand on his chest feeling his heart pound. After calming down, the boy slowly reached up and slid his nightcap off his head, revealing a spiky mane of blond hair. He was a young kid, only around 16 years old, his most defining features being the three whisker marks on each cheek. This boy was Naruto Uzumaki.

“What the hell was that?” Naruto murmured to himself. Looking outside, the blond noticed that it was still night-time. Moaning, he determined that there was no way he was possibly going to get back to sleep with the way he was feeling.

“Well, if I can’t sleep, might as well eat,” Naruto said to himself.And with that, he slowly got out of bed and wandered towards the apartment’s kitchen. Once there, he took an unopened cup of ramen out of a cupboard and set the water to boil.

His waking task accomplished, he slumped into a nearby chair and rested his face in his hands, contemplating what had happened earlier. ‘ _Seriously, just what the hell happened? One second I’m fast asleep, next I get some sort of…feeling that wakes me up. What the hell?’_

Glancing up from his hands, he noticed something illuminated by the moonlight. Smiling, he got up and walked over to pick it up. He then headed to the window so that he could see it better.

It was a photograph showing four figures; standing on the right was a short blond kid with blue eyes, around 12 years old. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and had a headband with a metal plate that had a symbol shaped like a leaf engraved on it. He was scowling at the person on the left hand side of the photo.

The boy the younger Naruto was glaring at was a short kid with black hair, only 12 years old. He was wearing a blue shirt and a headband similar to the blonde’s. He was glaring at the camera, looking like he wanted to be absolutely anywhere but there.

Standing between the two boys, seemingly oblivious to the negative emotions that they were giving off, was a young girl with shockingly pink hair. She was wearing a red dress and was using a headband as a makeshift hair tie. Her eyes were closed as she smiled happily.

Standing tall above them was an older man. He was wearing a green flak vest and a mask that covered the lower half of his face and a headband that covered his left eye, leaving only his right eye visible. Despite looking to be in his late twenties, he had grey hair that somehow seemed to spike out above his head. He was ruffling the hair of the two boys, most likely adding to their discontent.  

Naruto smiled while looking at the picture, blissfully reminiscing. “Yup,” he mused to himself, “Those were the good old days.”

Slowly, he raised his eyes and peered out the window and out towards the night sky. As the stars reflected in his eyes, his smile slowly shrank, and a single, simple, unprovoked thought ran through his head.

Just then, Naruto heard a familiar plastic click behind him. His smile immediately jumped back onto his face. “Water’s ready!” he quietly exclaimed to himself. He turned around and headed back inside to prepare the final stages of ramen development. But not even the joys of ramen could dampen the worry he felt gnawing in his gut.

**-o-**

_Some fight to find those they have lost…_

It was an ordinary night at Mahora Academy.

Well, if you could call an academy filled with mages, half-demons, a robot and a shinso vampire normal. In any case, by their standards, it was an average, run-of-the-mill night.

At least, it was for anyone who wasn’t an 11 year old mage/teacher with red hair that had recently saved the Magical World from total exposure and was planning a trip, or expedition, or quest, to the Magical World with the members of his class of Japanese high school girls.

No, for Negi Springfield, tonight was far from an ordinary night. His first clue was when he woke up in the middle of it for apparently no good reason, covered in sweat and panting as though he’d ran a marathon.

' _Wha-what on earth was that?_ 'thought Negi desperately. He glanced around the room he shared with his students and quickly extended his senses. ' _No significant magical signature nearby, at least no foreign ones, and I don’t think I had a dream, so,_ ' Negi bowed his head and furrowed his brow, thinking hard. ' _What woke me up?_ '

Negi turned his head and looked out the window towards the night. ' _The last time I felt anything even similar to this was right before the festival. But that was tiny, minuscule, just a passing shiver. Whatever that was, it can only mean one thing. Something big is on the way._ '

He felt some movement right next to him. Turning his head, he saw his red haired bunk-mate and pactio-partner Asuna lazily raise her head from her pillow, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Hey, everything alright, brat?” she mumbled.

Negi smiled at her sleepy expression. “Don’t worry Asuna, I just had a bad dream is all, go back to sleep.”

Murmuring her confirmation, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. When he heard her (relatively) light snoring, Negi turned back to the window, renewed confidence ablaze in his eyes. ' _Whatever it is,_ ' he thought ' _I will beat it, I will protect my students, I swear!_ '

As he stared out the window, he watched the stars. One thought flashed quickly through his mind. He blinked in confusion but dismissed it as unimportant. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned around and lied down, snuggling into Asuna and getting ready to doze off in the nice, warm-

“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BED YOU LITTLE PERVERT!” CRASH! BANG! “OUCH!”

Or the floor, the floor was good. His pooling blood certainly helped soften it. And thanks to what he felt was a concussion, he barely even felt a thing.

Yes, just another ordinary night in Mahora Academy.

**-o-**

_Some fight because it is the only path they have known their whole lives…_

In the middle of the state of Nevada, there is a desert. In the middle of that desert is a huge city, filled with white buildings with red roofs piling on top of one another, forming a sort of pyramid.

In the middle of this city, standing above all other buildings, is an extravagant structure, at least a hundred feet tall, cartoonish white skulls emblazoned on the walls, with towering spires, three black orbs floating above it, and four gargantuan, never-melting candles sticking out of the corners.

This is the Death Weapon Meister Academy. This is the DWMA.

Less than a mile from the academy is a small apartment, home to an albino punk with shark-teeth and the ability to transform into a scythe, a blonde girl with pigtails who was the punk’s partner, and a cat with ridiculous amounts of magical power and the ability to turn into a busty black haired beauty.

This was the home of Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn, and Blair the witch cat.

And it was in this home that Maka woke up, sweating and breathing heavily, hair undone and framing her head. She calmed down slightly and looked around her room, looking for whatever could have possibly woken her up. Feeling a weight on her lap, she looked down and saw a black cat wearing a witch’s hat curled up in it, sleeping soundly.

Finally calm again, she let loose a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding and fell back on her bed, her thoughts in turmoil. ' _What was_ that _? There aren’t any souls nearby, and Blair didn’t wake up, so what…?_ '

Sighing in exasperation, the blond sat up again. “I need a drink,” she mumbled to herself. Gently, Maka lifted Blair from her lap, got out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

She opened the fridge and leaned down, checking what was available. Judging from the blue mold growing on some of the things in there, the prospects were not good. Sighing, Maka made a mental note to make a food run the next day and reached into the fridge for the milk.

“Hey.”

Maka quickly whipped around to face her would-be aggressor, performing what she considered to be the most logical course of action given the situation.

“MAKA CHOP!” SMACK! “OW!”

Said course being to apply a hard-cover edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica to the aforementioned aggressor’s skull.

The aggressor lay on the ground nursing a newly formed lump that was poking through his white hair. ' _Wait, white hair?_ '

“Soul! What do you think you’re doing, scaring me like that?!” Maka admonished.

The albino weapon stood up, groaning from the pain. “I _thought_ that I was going to ask my meister why she was digging through our fridge this late at night. What the hell Maka, you didn’t have to hit me!”

Maka huffed in annoyance. “Yeah well, you didn’t have to sneak up on me!”

Soul sighed. “So uncool...”

He raised an eyebrow at the blond. “My question still stands though. What are you doing up this late?”

Maka hesitated before she rebuked. “Y-yeah well… I could ask the same of you!”

Soul sighed at his meister’s pig-headedness. “I got some sort of… feeling, while I was asleep. It was so strong that it shocked me awake.”

Maka’s eyes widened before she looked down. “That’s what happened to me to.”

Soul blinked at her in shock before he pressed his hand to his forehead and sighed exasperatedly. “Now that’s _really_ uncool…”

He watched as Maka slowly walked towards the nearby window and leaned on the sill, looking out towards the stars and the moon. He stood there for a few moments before he joined her.

“Soul… what do you think it means?” Maka asked in a whisper. Soul glanced at her before reverting his gaze to the ever-mocking moon.

“I dunno. It felt powerful.” Maka’s shoulders slumped. “But…” When she looked towards him, he clapped one of his hands on her shoulder and smiled his usual arrogant, shark-like smile. “Whatever it is, we’ll beat it together, just like always,” he stated confidently.

Maka stared at him for a few moments before she returned a small smile. “Yeah,” She looked towards the stars again. “Together.”

They stared at the stars for a few moments longer, a small thought crossing their minds almost simultaneously.

Blinking in confusion, Soul turned towards an equally confused Maka. “Hey, did you…”

“Y-yeah,” She stuttered. “For a few seconds, I was sure that…”

They stared at each other for a minute before Maka turned around abruptly and started walking away. “W-well, goodnight then.”

“Yeah, you too.”

And thus they headed back to their respective beds and fell back to sleep, unaware of the greater events in motion.

**-o-**

_Some fight because of the scars of the past…_

It was midnight on a small island in the middle of a body of water. On this island, near the northern tip, stood a grand church of immense size. This was the Headquarters of the Eastern European Branch of the Black Order. This was a home of exorcists.

Specifically, it was home to a short, white-haired exorcist that had a curse on his left eye, and a weapon in his left arm. This was the home of Allen Walker, who had recently woken up in a slight panic, looking around his small, cell-like room like a cornered animal.

“What was that?” Allen asked himself. Seeing that he was alone, Allen calmed down a bit, although not by much. He put his back against the wall behind his bed, and shadowed his eyes with his left arm while he attempted to collect his thoughts.

' _Okay, what just happened? I was sleeping, I know that much, but then it’s like I got some sort of… premonition. Sure, I’ve gotten them before, like moments before I saw the Level 4 egg, but compared to this…_ '

Allen was broken out of his train of thoughts by a sudden weight dropping on his head. Smiling, he reached up and held the object out in front of him. “Oh hey Tim, sorry, did I scare you?”

The little golem flew up and head-butted Allen a few times. Allen raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”' _I hope,_ ' he grimly added in his head.

Accepting the apology, Timcanpy settled down in Allen’s lap, who noticed that the golden ball was shivering slightly. “What’s wrong Tim? Were you scared for me?” Tim nodded. Allen’s face softened. “You didn’t want to lose me like Master, huh?” More nodding, this time with a frantic edge to it. “Don’t worry Tim, I’m not going anywhere.”

Sighing, Allen turned his gaze on his left hand. ' _Or am I? Look at what’s happened. First I find out that I can fly an ancient ship through space using a piano, then the Order gets attacked by Akuma and a Level 4, I find out there’s a Noah inside of me, and Master goes and gets himself killed. With the rate things have been changing lately, anything could happen._ '

Suddenly, a series of faces flashed through his mind; a woman with black hair and dark rings under her eyes, a younger woman with short black hair and glowing boots, an older looking teen with a sword and a long black ponytail, and a tall black man wearing headphones. There was also a teen with red hair and an eye-patch, a short old man who resembled a panda, and a tall man with a shock of white hair and fangs.

Allen looked out the window, smiling contentedly while he thought about his friends. ' _Well, whatever the case might be, I know that together, there is no way in hell we can possibly lose,'_ he optimistically thought.

As he watched the stars in the sky, a thought flashed across Allen’s mind. Its implications made Allen shiver. ' _Now_ there’s _a scary thought, almost as bad as Master getting drunk and going to that Las Vegas_ place.'

As Allen considered what that would be like, his face became increasingly haunted, until he looked downright horrified.

' _On second thought, NOTHING could be as bad as that!_ '

Quickly lying back down in an attempt to escape the terrifying images, Allen promptly fell asleep. Little did he know, his last waking thoughts were about to be proven wrong.

**-o-**

_Some fight to fulfil their wildest dreams…_

It was a quiet night on an island in the middle of the ocean. An island that cycled through 48 separate seasons, populated with over 500 of the most dangerous animals in the world, and was situated one of the most dangerous strips of ocean in the world.

Well, 'quiet' might not have been the most accurate description, considering how the air was filled with roars, whines, yips and caws from many of the various animals; as well as the rumblings of varying volcanoes and waterfalls.

“Peaceful” wouldn’t fit either, seeing how many of the animals were calling out either in pain, defiance, victory, or a combination of all three. Average! That was the word; it was an average, ordinary, blood-and-battle-filled night.

At least, it was for most things on the island. For one young, toned, scarred, black haired pirate named Monkey D. Luffy, it was not an average night. Now, most people might call Luffy dim, and they would be correct in that description; for the most part anyway. But even an idiot like him understood that something was up when he suddenly woke up out of the blue for no apparent reason.

Luffy blinked a few times in confusion as he breathed heavily. “Whoa, what was that?!” he asked himself. He quickly scanned the clearing he had been sleeping in. Nothing had changed; Rayleigh was snoring against a nearby rock, the creatures he had befriended were still sleeping behind him and the piles of skeletons from animals he had hunted and subsequently eaten (read: devoured) lay undisturbed.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion and crossed his arms across his chest. “OK, so it wasn’t any of the animals, and I wasn’t having a dream. I did get this weird feeling though, but what could it have meant?” Luffy closed his eyes and bit his lip as he racked his brains for what could have happened. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he pounded his fist into his palm, grinning like an idiot. “I know! It was a mystery feeling!”

He maintained his position for a few moments before he slumped down. “No, that’s stupid.” He quickly cheered up and got to his feet. “Ah well, if I can’t sleep, might as well eat.” And with that, he walked off into the woods.

About a half hour later, he walked back out, easily dragging the carcass of a gargantuan rhinoceros behind him. Luffy then dropped the body and rekindled the camp fire that had gone out last night. However, instead of tearing into the sweet, delicious, succulent meat like he normally would have, Luffy stared silently into the flames, deep in his thoughts, as unbelievable as that may seem.

_‘I’ve been on this island for around a year and a half now...I wonder how everyone else is doing.’_ He mused to himself. _‘I bet that they’ve all gotten really strong, like me! Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook… I hope they’re all right. The stuff on this island, it’s only a taste of what’s in the New World; if we’d faced things this strong back then, we’d have been torn apart!’_ Luffy winced as he tenderly fingered an X-shaped scar on his chest. _‘I’m living proof of that…’_

Luffy stared into the fire a little longer before he slapped both sides of his head simultaneously. “Gah, what am I thinking?! Of course we’re stronger, I know it! We’re gonna beat everyone in our way! We’re not gonna lose again!” He shot to his feet and pointed his fists to the sky, shouting “YOU HEAR THAT WORLD? I’M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!”

When Luffy finished, he maintained his pose, panting heavily. As he watched the night sky, a thought flashed through his head unbidden. Luffy blinked before grinning maniacally. “Now THAT sounds interesting!”

He stood there, grinning at the sky for a short while; until a rock hit him in the head.

“Shut up and go to sleep you idiot.”

“Sorry Rayleigh!”

**-o-**

_Some fight in defiance of the fate handed to them…_

Sengoku: a period in Japan’s history renowned as a time of political and social upheaval; known as the “Age of the Country at War”, it was one of the most bloody eras in Japan.

However, there is an untold side to the Sengoku Period.

It was also a time filled with magic, where demons ran rampant across the countryside, terrorizing farmers and nobles alike. Nothing was sacred to them; they destroyed everything and everyone that got in their paths.

They were especially dangerous at night, making sleeping in the wild especially dangerous and posting sentries necessary. And it was _especially_ necessary that said sentries remained awake and vigilant; a task which one long-and-white-haired, dog-eared, fanged half-demon wearing a red cloak was failing at spectacularly. Or at least, he was…until his eyes snapped open.

Most other people would have jerked forward in shock from what he had just felt, but Inuyasha wasn’t other people. His instincts kept him from making any sudden movements when waking up unless he was under attack; however, they didn’t keep his heart from pounding like a jack-hammer in his chest, or his eyes from darting around his surroundings.

_‘What the FUCK just happened?!’_ he thought wildly to himself. He clutched the sword propped against his shoulder in an iron grip. _‘Could it be one of Naraku’s tricks?’_

He cast a wary eye around the clearing, observing his friends sleeping around a dying fire. _‘No,’_ Inuyasha thought to himself _‘it didn’t feel like Naraku, or anything else I’m familiar with for that matter, that’s for damn sure.’_

Inuyasha fidgeted a bit in an attempt to make his position of leaning against the tree a bit more comfortable. _‘But in that case, what the hell was IT anyway? It felt like a… a premonition or something.’_

Inuyasha shivered at the implications. He’d occasionally gotten premonitions before, right before he and his friends had had to face ridiculously powerful foes. But those had all been tiny shivers running down his spine and such; to feel something of this magnitude… _‘Something’s coming, no denying it.’_ He scowled, baring his fangs. _‘And whatever it is, it’s gonna be big.’_

A small sound drifted through the air. Inuyasha blinked in confusion and turned his head towards the clearing. His eyes softened when he saw that the one making the noise was a teenage girl with long black hair in a Japanese high school uniform mumbling in her sleep. His eyes hardening in determination, Inuyasha leaned his head against the tree and looked skyward.

_‘It doesn’t matter who or what comes at us, there’s no way in hell it’ll beat me!’_  He thought confidently to himself. As the stars reflected in his eyes, an unusual thought ran across his mind. Upon registering the thought, Inuyasha's eyes widened, but before he could delve deeper into it, the Japanese girl’s mutterings became coherent for a moment.

“Zzz…Inuyasha…sit boy…zzz” SLAM!

Inuyasha lay sprawled out on the ground, his face implanted in the forest floor. “Damn it Kagome…” He grumbled to himself. He spent the rest of the night in the rather uncomfortable position, the ominous thought forgotten.

**-o-**

_Some fight for a chance to regain their loved ones…_

In the land of Fiore, in the town of Magnolia, there is a guild; a guild filled with the greatest mages in all the land. The greatest mage guild in the world: Fairy Tail.

Normally, the guild is known for being the rowdiest around, continuing to party and rough-house into the dead of night. Tonight, however, is one of the few, peaceful respites that Magnolia could obtain.

It was also quiet in a small apartment a short distance away from the Fairy Tail HQ. The apartment was the rented home of Lucy Heartfilia. Or it had _been_ peaceful, until a pink haired salamander had jerked upright in his bed, sweating like a pig.

Natsu breathed heavily, looking around the bedroom. He cast his gaze around; looking for whatever woke him up. Seeing and smelling nothing unusual, he heaved a sigh and wiped his forehead with his arm. “That was weird…” He grumbled to himself.

Natsu heard a small yawn to his right. Turning, he saw a small blue cat sitting up, rubbing its eyes tiredly. “Hey Natsu, is everything all right?” Happy asked in a sleepy voice.

Natsu smiled calmly. “Yeah, don’t worry Happy, just a bad dream, go back to sleep.”

“Aye.” The cat mumbled as it lay back down.

When he was sure the Exceed was asleep, Natsu dropped his smile. _‘What just happened? I don’t think that was magic, and Happy wasn’t affected, so…’_ Natsu shrugged his shoulders. “Ah well, it probably isn’t important.” He turned his eyes towards the window and looked at the stars twinkling outside. “Sure is beautiful out there…” Natsu mused to himself.

Suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind. Natsu blinked considering it and then grinned wildly, showing off sharp canines. “That would be exciting!” With that, he fell back onto the pillow, prepared to fall back to sleep.

Until the door was opened and the light was flicked on by a rather peeved pig-tails wearing blonde. “Natsu! Happy!”

Natsu quickly sat up and turned towards the door where Lucy Heartfilia stood. However, she was way different then he had seen her earlier that day. After all, she hadn’t been covered in mud and looking like she wanted to rip his head off at breakfast.

“Err, hey Lucy, how’s it goin’? Where were you all day?” Natsu was _really_ not liking the look Lucy was giving him and Happy.

Lucy ignored the question, continuing to stare at him with a murderous look in her eyes. “Why are you two in my bed?” She growled out.

Natsu broke out in a cold sweat. “W-well, y-you see…” He stammered, “We were on our way home, b-but we passed by your house and thought we c-could…crash here tonight?”

“A-aye!” Agreed a recently awakened and _extremely_ nervous Happy.

Lucy’s eye twitched. Now, normally whenever she caught one of her guild-mates in her house, she would yell at them a little and then either send them on their way or let them stay awhile; unfortunately for Natsu, Lucy had taken a solo mission earlier that day that required her to help out at a farm.

Considering how she was subsequently covered in mud and varying other brown substances, she was obviously not very happy. Throw in the fact that she was forced to walk home because no one else would give her a lift due to the smell and the result would be a _much_ stressed out celestial mage.

Luckily for her and unfortunately for her friends, she had _just_ found a good outlet for her frustration.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOME!” CRASH! SPLASH!

Natsu and Happy would spend the rest of the night floating down the lazy Magnolia River.

**-o-**

_Some fight because of the fate forced upon them…_

Namimori: a nice, casual, every-day town in Japan. Or at least, that is what it looks like on the surface. To a select few of its residents, one fact is well-known: normality (as well as sanity) is often skin-deep.

And this phrase often holds true in Namimori, considering how on the surface, the said select few seem like (relatively) ordinary teenagers, while in reality they are something far different.

These few are the Tenth Generation of the Vongola Famiglia, the current Mafia family leading the underground. But though this might _sound_ threatening, they are actually quite harmless. Well, they were often harmless; most of them anyway.

In any case, though they might seem ordinary (and sane) on the surface, strange things often seem to happen to these would-be Mafioso. And more often than not, they happen to one specific Mafioso. Tsunayoshi Sawada, Tsuna to his friends, No-Good-Tsuna to his tutor, and Tenth Vongola Boss, or Vongola Decimo, to the Mafia world.

Well, Vongola Decimo in training anyway.

Nevertheless, out of all his friends, Tsuna had the worst of luck out of all his friends when it came to unusual occurrences. After all, it’s not normal to wake up in the middle of the night panicking is it?

And wake up in a panic he did. Tsuna jerked up in bed hastily, looking around his bedroom to see why he’d suddenly been jerked out of his dream. It was a good dream too; He and Kyoko were just about to-Ahem, well, that’s an entirely separate matter, back with the Tenth:

Tsuna breathed heavily, his face covered in sweat, as he twisted around trying to see his whole bedroom. His thoughts were a few steps away from becoming hysterical _‘WHAT’S GOING ON, WHAT’S HAPPENING?! IS IT REBORN?! IS SOMEONE ATTACKING ME?! IS REBORN ATTACKING ME!?!’_ Check that, they were extremely hysterical.

Finally, Tsuna spotted something that helped calmed him down (in a way): It was his home tutor, the infant hitman Reborn, sleeping soundly in his hammock and dressed in his usual sleeping cap. The fact that his eyes were wide open would have made others think he was awake, but the snot-bubble coming from his nose was a huge clue to how conscious he was.

Seeing that his teacher/tormentor was still asleep, Tsuna managed to relax, if only a little. He released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and fell back on his pillow. _‘Well,’_ he thought grimly _‘Now I know that Reborn isn’t putting me through another one of his stupid tests, and I’m not in any immediate danger, or else he would be firing mercilessly at anything that moved. But in that case…’_ Tsuna sat up again, worry and fear present in his eyes _‘What could have woken me up?’_

Tsuna ran his hands through his hair wearily. _‘I hope it isn’t anything too dangerous, I don’t want to go through something like the Simon fiasco again.’_ Tsuna felt a small smile creep onto his face as he remembered the aftermath of that particular incident. _‘Well, at least we got out of that one alright. I’m sure that whatever it is we’ll get through intact.’_

As Tsuna smiled contentedly, he turned towards his window and watched the night sky. Suddenly, an unbidden thought came to the forefront of his mind; a thought that plastered a much panicked look on his face. “On second thought, I _really_ don’t want to face whatever it is!” Registering that he had accidentally spoken out loud, Tsuna hastily clapped his hands over his mouth. Unfortunately, the damage was already done.

“Go to bed, No-Good-Tsuna.” Tsuna whipped his head towards Reborn only to end up staring down the muzzle of the Arcobaleno’s gun. BANG!

Tsuna jerked back from the recoil of the Dying Will Bullet hitting his head. His body slowly fell towards the mattress when suddenly…

“SLEEP AS IF I WERE TO DIE!” THUMP! SNORE!

Yes indeed, in Namimori, sanity was _purely_ skin-deep.

**-o-**

_Some fight because of the consequences of the past…_

In the great country of Amestris, the word “normal” was extremely relative, mainly because of the fact that alchemy was an ancient practice in Amestris. Normal to an average person would be throwing away anything broken, while to an alchemist, a simple transmutation circle fixes everything right up.

But as strange as the research and practices of alchemists are, the alchemists themselves are still human; and as humans, they still require sleep to function. So at night, Amestris falls into a state of peace and quiet, without any abnormalities or oddities to ruin it.

At least that’s what happened on most nights. Tonight, an alchemist was breaking the norm.

But this deviation from the world’s day-to-day, or in this case, night-to-night routine was not occurring inside a transmutation circle. In fact, this abnormality was not even remotely caused by alchemy. In fact, it was for all intents and purposes impossible to explain.

What happened was that Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, the youngest state alchemist in Amestrian history, woke up.

Now, normally, waking up seems like the easiest, most common thing in the world; however, what made this instance of awakening unique was that it happened in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

Being naturally gifted with intelligence, Ed prided himself on being able to explain a variety of odd situations; so obviously, when he found himself conscious with no reason why, he was vividly panicked.

Ed sprang into an upright position from the log he had been sleeping against, twisting his body around to see what was happening. The results were less than conclusive; absolutely nothing had changed. He was still in a forest, Heinkel and Darius were still propped up against trees, fast asleep, and Greed (or was it Ling?) was still lying on the ground, equally fast asleep.

Seeing nothing was wrong, Ed’s actions became a bit calmer, though his brain was still firing at full cylinders. _‘What the hell was that? A nightmare?’_ He shook his head, dismissing the notion _‘No, I’d remember having a nightmare. A trap? One of the homunculi? What was it!? Think Ed, think!!’_

Ed rapped the side of his skull a few times in an attempt to clear his thoughts, but promptly stopped when the pain was far more severe than he had anticipated. The answer was obvious to him immediately though: He’d been hitting his head with his right hand.

Blows are commonly much more severe when dealt by a fist made of metal.

His mood greatly darkened, Ed leaned back against the log and shadowed his eyes with the prosthetic, looking at it sadly. He remembered the pain he had felt when he had gained this new hand…as well as that he had felt when he had lost the original. Ed stared into the eyes of his reflection on the polished metal, lost in his thoughts. _‘We’ve gone through a lot…’_

Ed saw the stars shining brightly up above. He stared past his metal limb and watched them glitter brightly, his eyes still filled with pain. _‘And we’re going to go through a lot more…’_

Suddenly, he remembered two figures. One was tall, towering above him, and though he was encased in a suit of armour, he still managed to convey a feeling of hope. The other was a girl, with long blond hair, a kind smile, and blue eyes twinkling with happiness.

Ed’s eyes widened at the memories. _‘Alphonse…Winry…’_ His eyes gained a spark of energy. Clenching his metal fist, he swung it crashing down onto the ground beside him. _‘Well, no matter what happens, we’ll pull through, I’m sure of it!’_

Staring into the night with new-found determination, Ed was completely caught off guard by a sudden thought leaping to the forefront of his mind; a thought that replaced confidence with worry. “I hope not, God I hope not…” he murmured to himself, wishing for a way to distract himself from the thought.

Apparently he was heard, though not in the intended manner. To Ed’s right, Ling (or was it Greed?) shifted in his sleep. “Go to sleep you damn midget.” He mumbled lazily. Yes, definitely Greed.

Ed felt his temper rising, as well as a vein throbbing on his forehead. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A MICROSCOPIC MIDGET EASILY CRUSHED UNDERFOOT YOU BASTARD?!” He roared.

Greed flipped over to face him, his features set in annoyance. “I DIDN’T SAY ANY OF THAT YOU LITTLE BASTARD, BUT AT THIS POINT I WISH I DID!”

“WHY YOU-!” Ed and Greed were cut off by two rocks simultaneously slamming into their faces, courtesy of their recently awakened comrades.

“WILL YOU TWO IDIOTS JUST SHUT UP AND GO BACK TO SLEEP!?”

“YEAH, IT’S PRACTICALLY MIDNIGHT YOU MORONS!”

Ed and Greed exchanged a heated glare before looking away simultaneously.

“Fine…”

“Tch. Whatever…”

With that, they all settled in, went back to sleep, and let the world continue on its nightly course.

**-o-**

_Some fight in order to protect what they love…_

Karakura Town was a small town in Japan. It seemed normal on the surface, but there were often rumours of strange occurrences transpiring; rumours such as claw marls being gouged into stone walls, buildings being crushed for absolutely no reason, and explosions happening out of thin air.

Of course, there were many explanations to these strange events: some said that the claw marks were from wild bears, that the buildings were structurally unsound, and the explosions were simply spontaneous combustion.

However, each of these explanations was completely and utterly false.

The truth to these events was far more logical: They were caused by undead spirit-warriors known as Soul Reapers fighting evil, ghost-eating spirit-monsters known as Hollows so that the Hollows could be exorcised and sent to the afterlife.

Definitely a plausible explanation.

Not all of the sword-wielding Soul Reapers were undead though. In fact, Karakura Town’s own Ichigo Kurosaki was a Substitute Soul Reaper, fully alive and in charge of protecting Karakura Town’s population, alive and dead, from the horrors known as Hollows.

Ever since Ichigo had been ripped from his usual life as a high-school student, he had been subjected to many a strange and/or awkward situation.

However, out of all his experience in the insane life of a Soul Reaper, not once had he ever woken up out of the blue like he just had.

Ichigo sat upright his bed, staring at the wall opposite him. He gasped for air for a minute before he finally calmed himself down. Slowly, he looked around and observed his room. The closet in which one of his friends was currently sleeping was still closed, the stuffed lion on his desk was still snoring, and the trap he had set for his dad in case he snuck in was undisturbed.

No, nothing the least bit of the ordinary.

Ichigo sighed and swung his body so that his legs were hanging off his bed. He sat there for a few moments, eyes contemplative. _‘OK, what just happened? Nothing’s wrong, I don’t feel any spiritual pressure, Rukia and Kon are still asleep…I honestly have no idea what’s going on…again.’_

Ichigo closed his eyes in frustration and rubbed the bridge of his nose. _‘Let’s see…’_ He thought _‘I did get a sort of…feeling. Yeah, now I remember, it was like a premonition… must have been a hell of a premonition for it to wake me up like that.’_ Ichigo lay back in bed with his hands folded under his head. _‘In that case, the real question is: what could have possibly caused it? It sure picked a hell of a time to show up, considering how we still have to deal with Aizen and the Espada.’_

Ichigo sat up and looked out his window at the stars spread out across the night. _‘Well, whatever it is, it better not cause any trouble, or I’ll deal with it, that’s for sure.’_

Suddenly, a thought surfaced in his mind. It wasn’t a big thought, it was a phrase, a simple sentence; but the implications of that phrase were earth-shattering. Ichigo’s eyes widened at the thought. _‘That figures, it would be just my luck.’_

Resigned to the strange thought, Ichigo lay back down and fell asleep, while all the while events of inconceivable proportions were preparing to occur.

**-o-**

_And finally, some fight, simply because someone has to…_

In the middle of nowhere, on the lip of a cliff, jutting out into oblivion, there stood a man. The man’s features were indiscernible in the midnight-darkness.

The only break from the night were the stars shining ever so brightly above, and a city; a city far, far on the horizon, with lights shining high into the darkness, yet not ruining even a single sparkling light in the heavens.

The man continued to stare off towards the city, yet not truly looking at it. His mind was lost, wandering through his memories and thoughts; remembering what he had done, contemplating what he was planning to do, and wondering what would come next.

Suddenly, he broke out of his thoughts, interrupted by several figures appearing out of nowhere in a line behind him, nearly invisible in the dark.

The man did not stop looking at the far off city as he addressed the individuals. “Is everything ready?” He inquired.

One of the people reached up and adjusted his glasses in the dark. “Yes, the spell is ready to be activated at any moment.”

Another fiddled with an object near his eye. “And my machine is well prepared as well. We will be able to activate them on when you say so.”

The man nodded, glad at least that part was unimpeded. “And the men?”

Two figures standing side-by-side glanced at each other, than back towards the man. “Our troops are prepared for combat, should the need arise.” One, a man, stated simply. “Which we sincerely hope it won’t” The other finished in a female voice.

The person with glasses nodded. “My armies are as well.”

“And my legions are primed for action.” The second man concurred.

A slightly hunched figure shifted his weight. “Our warriors await the signal to battle.” He stated in a deep voice.

Another person crossed his arms, a slight clanking sound arising from his armour “As do ours, though with more enthusiasm then I’d prefer.” He said, a slight hiss present in his voice.

One of the figures tugged his hat down so that its wide brim covered his eyes. “The Clans are prepared, though quite reluctantly I might add.”

The man turned his head slightly so that he was facing the group. “And what about you,” He inquired. “Are you all ready for whatever tomorrow might bring?”

One of the figures slammed a metal-clad fist into his open palm. “You know us, always ready for a good fight.” He said solemnly.

The man turned his head back towards the city, his head bowed. “Yes, but are we prepared for this? This is the greatest endeavour we have ever faced. If this goes wrong-“

“Oh puhleeze!” exclaimed a high-pitched voice, coming from an excessively short person. Another short person continued “Do we really have to endure your self-doubting tirade?” “Because news flash, win or lose, it doesn’t matter!” a third said. A fourth and final midget finished “We can’t back down, not here and not now!”

Another person nodded “We’re ready, and we’re not scared. Come hell or high-water, this is going down, and we’ll be at the very epicentre of it. And we will make it out.”

The man nodded, knowing the words to be true. “Very well then, in that case, let’s go and make the final preparations, shall we? After all,” He turned towards the group, fire alight in his eyes, “Tomorrow is a big day.”

Everyone present gained a wild smirk or a content grin on their face before pumping their fists towards the sky and yelling out “FOR THE ORDER!”

The man smiled behind his face mask. “For the Order.” He concurred.

As they all stood there, looking at each other, brimming with energy and unable to wait, they could only think of a single phrase to sum up what they felt.

**-o-**

_For whatever reason that they fought at first, this generation was about to discover an entirely new reason to fight. They were about to enter into something larger and grander than they could ever have imagined._

_At that moment in time, the strongest members of the generation had a thought, a single, simple thought of immense proportions, a thought that was about to occur, no matter what tried to stop it._

_The thought was a single phrase:_

_‘Tomorrow, nothing will ever be the same.’_

_These are the stories detailing the adventures of the newest generation in an organization that defended justice._

_These are the stories of the generation that ended the war._

_These are the Chronicles from the Order of Stars._

**To be continued…**


	2. Who, What, Where, When and Why, but None The Wiser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two: Who, What, Where, When and Why, but None The Wiser
> 
> A.N. Well, here’s chapter two, where hopefully things will pick up the pace. As always, Read, Review, Enjoy!
> 
> Editor's note: This is AFTER the Kazekage's rescue, but BEFORE the bridge incident! So no Sai.
> 
> Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**Location: Classified**

“Are you absolutely certain this will work?”

The man sighed exasperatedly. This was the third time his bespectacled friend had asked him that since they had arrived and it was beginning to irk him. He looked up from the holographic screen he had been typing on and looked over at his longtime companion.

“Yes I’m sure. I’ve run the simulations and crunched the numbers an insane amount of times and I’m doing it again right now!” He glanced at the glowing book sitting in his partner’s lap, all the while fiddling with a piece of metal covering what would have been his right eye. “Honestly, I should be asking if the magic you have planned will hold up!”

The four-eyed man twisted his body to look at the cyclops, indignation present in his eyes. “How dare you!? I will have you know, this is the sleekest and most eloquent array of runes I have ever created! I know you’re adept at technology, but compared to most of your other creations this one is extremely low-brow!”

_‘He’s got a point there.’_ The metal-eyed man thought, looking his machine over. It stood on a tripod. The legs were connected to the base of a large bronze tube, which was just short of two dozen feet long, had the circumference of an oil drum.

Sticking out of the right side of the tube was a bronze chair that was facing the same direction as the tube. A bronze keyboard was also sticking out in front of the chair, reminiscent of a guard bar on a roller coaster.

The entirety of the bronze tube was covered in strange runic markings, all seemingly originating from a pair of hand prints outlined by the markings. The hand prints were on the side of the tube opposite the chair. There were two pieces of bronze jutting out beneath the hand prints, acting as platforms for someone to stand on.

There was a large disk of bronze attached to the butt of the tube, with glowing blue concentric circles inscribed within. Another platform was connected to the bottom most part of the disk.

“Still though, you’re one to talk. I’ve seen you make arrays miles wide, or with lots more detail. Compared to those, this one is rather…mundane.”

The glasses-wearing man crossed his arms and leveled a glare at the one-eyed man. “Well _of course_ it’s not as efficient as I’d like it to be,” he groused, “but I had to scale it down for the same reason you did! We can’t be detected; too much power and we’ll be caught with our hands in the million-dollar cookie jar.”

“Like the Giza incident all over again,” the one-eyed man stated.

Four-eyes shivered. “Please don’t remind me of that debacle... I can still feel that dog’s teeth chewing my-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the picture,” good old one-eye quickly interrupted. “Anyway, my calculations are done. We’re green across the board. You?”

The bespectacled man quickly shook himself out of the traumatic memory and checked the writing in his book. “Everything is stable. All we’re waiting for-”

“Has arrived,” a man with metal gloves interrupted, walking up behind the two. “So now that I’m here, how can I help?”

The two men took the third one's sudden appearance in stride, seemingly unsurprised at his sudden appearance. The one-eyed man answered him. “We need your help firing the cannon.”

The gloved man tilted his head in confusion. “Um, I’m good with tech, but I don’t think that I can operate this thing.”

The man with the glasses shook his head. “You misunderstand; because we had to keep this thing hidden, we couldn’t give it a strong enough power source. The energy emission would have been detected if it was as big as I would have wanted it to be. We designed the disc on the back to convert kinetic energy to electrical and magical energy.”

The gloved man nodded. “Now _that_ makes much more sense. So how much force should I use?”

The one-eyed man gained a glazed look in his eye as he stared at nothing for a few moments before he regained focus. “I’d say as much strength as you have right now.”

The gloved man nodded in affirmation. One-eye continued. “Gentlemen, the hour is upon us. Get to your positions and prepare to fire the package.”

“Right.”

“Agreed.”

The trio sprang into action. Quickly the cyclops nimbly swung himself into the metal chair and began typing on the keyboard, observing the holographic displays that appeared. The glasses wearing man jumped onto the platform underneath the bronze device and placed his hands in the hand prints. The second he did the markings covering the whole of the device lit up, glowing in a variety of colors while several symbols were swirling around the man. Finally, the man in the metal gear stood at the rear of the cannon, awaiting his signal.

The four-eyed man observed the symbols swirling around him intently, gaining information from the illogical shapes. “All arrays are stable, package is primed for delivery.”

The one-eyed man was equally focused on his task, glancing between all of the glowing screens. “All systems are fully functional. The cannon is ready to fire.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Are you ready?”

The man flexed his metal-clad fingers, his feet set in a stable position. “Just say when.”

The one-eyed man nodded and tapped on the keyboard in front of him. “Receptors primed for energy influx. Target is locked on. Firing cannon in three…” He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Two…” The bespectacled man pushed his hands harder into the outlines, the runes glowing even brighter.

“One…” The metal clad man narrowed his eyes and drew back his fist.

“NOW!” The fist slammed into the disk, causing the entire structure to shudder. The cannon then jolted back as a beam of white light shot out of its front, illuminating the dark for a moment before it dissipated.

The cannon’s barrel was still smoking when the one-eyed man turned to look at his companion. “Well?” he inquired.

The four-eyed man closed his eyes for a few moments, concentrating intensely. He then opened his eyes, a triumphant smirk upon his lips. “The package is away.” The other two men let out sighs of relief.

The one-eyed man then jumped down from his seat. “Well, let’s get out of here. Big day tomorrow and all.” His two friends followed his lead before the gloved man stopped.

“Wait, what are we going to do about the cannon?” Without breaking his stride, the one-eyed man lifted his right hand above his head, a small rectangular device grasped within. He pressed a button upon it.

_Beep-beep_. _Boom_! The two men whirled around at the noise behind them only to behold a smoldering heap of flaming heap of scrap-metal. The men stared dumbfounded for a few moments before the bespectacled man’s shoulders slumped

“Really? Just really?” He inquired in a tired voice.

The one eyed man’s only response was to tilt his head back and laugh at the stars.

-0-

_At that moment, in ten different worlds, showers of light fell from the sky, landing near several sleeping individuals_.

-0-

**Location: Village Hidden in the Leaves**

It was a brand new day in the Leaf Village. Birds were singing, people were waking up, and the sun was rising over the Hokage monument.

One ninja in particular was still half asleep as he was walking down the main road. Naruto Uzumaki yawned, heading off to get his breakfast. Of course, it was ramen at one of his favorite spots in the whole village. Ichiraku Ramen, the best damn ramen shop in the Elemental Nations – at least in Naruto's opinion.

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he walked on, mulling over what happened the previous night. “Jeez, that was so weird,” he mumbled under his breath. “As if the first shock wasn’t enough, then ‘nothing will ever be the same’? Nothing will ever be normal for me, that’s for sure.”

Suddenly he smelled a heavenly, amazing scent in the wind. Recognizing it instantly, Naruto grinned wolfishly, borderline foxily. _‘Well,’_ he thought blissfully. _‘At least I know this will never change!’_

Naruto immediately broke into a full-tilt sprint, dashing down the street until he finally skidded to a stop in front of the small shop that was giving off the godly scent. He jumped inside and sat on one of the stools quicker than most of the onlookers present believed possible.

“Morning Ayame, morning old man Teuchi!”

The father and daughter duo grinned happily as their favorite cash cow- ' _Cough cough I mean customer!_ '

“Good morning Naruto,” Teuchi replied. “The usual three miso ramen?”

“Better make it five, I had a weird night,” Naruto said, rubbing his head sheepishly.

Teuchi cocked an eyebrow in curiosity but wrote it off as a shinobi thing. “Ayame!” He called back into the kitchen, “Five miso ra-!” Clunk!

Teuchi and Naruto blinked in surprise when Ayame placed the five bowls in front of Naruto. “Here’s your ramen, enjoy!” she stated happily. She then noticed their baffled faces. “What?” she inquired inquisitively. “Naruto’s stomach is like clockwork! How could I not be prepared?”

Accepting the answer, Naruto fell upon the bowls and showed no mercy to the ramen enemy!

Teuchi and Ayame sweatdropped as they watched. _‘I’ll never get used to this,_ ’they both thought.

While he was feasting, Naruto failed to notice a figure walking up behind him until she called out. “Enjoying your breakfast, Naruto?”

Finishing the last bowl, Naruto grinned and turned around to greet the familiar face. “Good morning Sakura!”

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled cheerfully at her teammate. “Good morning to you too Naruto. How have things been?”

Naruto's thoughts flashed back to the night before, but he decided to simply plaster a smile on his face, and said. “Ah nothing, business as usual. You?”

Sakura frowned. “Actually, that’s why I’m here. Lady Tsunade wants to see us about the oncoming mission. Are you almost done eating?”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah, I just finished. Let me just pay.” He turned to Teuchi. “500 ryo, right?” Teuchi nodded happily.

Naruto reached into his pocket to retrieve the funds, but suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock. His hand had brushed something, something odd, something unfamiliar, something he most certainly had _not_ placed in that pocket; something that had inexplicably made him feel as though he had stuck his hand in a socket.

Grasping the object, Naruto slowly pulled it out of his pocket, and stared at it in disbelief. It was an envelope. A pure white envelope, no wrinkles or creases present. The envelope was sealed with a strange seal made of black wax. The seal was shaped like a five pointed star overlapping an upside-down, similarly shaped star, so that only the arms were visible. Written above the seal in neat handwriting were two words that shocked the blonde Genin most of all: _Naruto Uzumaki._

"-ruto...Naruto!" Naruto was snapped out of his daze by Sakura shouting at him.

"Huh, wha-? I’m OK!"

“Clearly," Sakura grumbled. She pointed at the letter. "Naruto, what is that?"

"I dunno..." he replied. "I didn’t have it on me when I left my apartment.”

He began contemplating where he could have acquired it when suddenly...

"Naruto!" Ayame called. Naruto turned to face her and immediately regretted it.

Ayame was smiling kindly at the blonde Genin, the picture of happiness... a picture marred by an extremely menacing aura and a stainless steel ladle being tapped in her hand. "You are going to pay for that ramen." She strangled the ladles neck, making the steel creak ominously. " _Right_?"

The blond gulped and immediately began desperately scouring his pockets for the necessary 500, leaving the letter temporarily forgotten on the counter. With mounting horror, Naruto realized he had forgotten his wallet at home. Sweating profusely, the doomed Genin called out to his teammate.

“H-hey Sakura, c-could I borrow 500 ryo? I-I’ll pay you back!” he pleaded desperately.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the so-called knucklehead-ninja’s predicament and reached for her wallet. “Fine, but you should really keep track of your-!” She cut off her admonishments in the middle of her sentence, eyes widened in shock from what she had discovered.

Naruto squirmed in his seat, pinned by Ayame’s deceivingly kind gaze. Panicking, he whipped around to face his friend. “Sakura, what’s the hold-!” The words died in his mouth when he saw what was clutched in her hands.

An envelope, a seemingly ordinary envelope that, someway, somehow, was radiating an aura of inestimable importance.

“Where did you get that?” Naruto whispered in an awed voice.

“I-I don’t know,” Sakura responded in a quiet voice. “But Naruto, look at this!” She turned the envelope towards him, and Naruto’s heart nearly stopped.

On the seal of the envelope was a seal depicting the same ten-sided star. Written above it, in the neat, familiar handwriting, was a name.

_Sakura Haruno._

Slowly, Naruto reached behind him, grabbed his envelope off the counter, and held it near the one gripped tightly in Sakura’s hand. No mistake, the two envelopes were identical, the sole difference being the names.

“Naruto, what are these things? How did we get them?” Sakura asked.

“I have no clue,” Naruto responded curiosity and a twinge of fear in his eyes. Suddenly, he remembered something. _‘Tomorrow, nothing will ever be the same’. ‘Could this be what it meant?’_ Naruto thought frantically.

“I don’t know where those things came from either,” Ayame intervened in a sweet voice. “But if I don’t get paid soon, _someone’s_ going to be brained!” This was said – more like snarled – in a far more _bloodthirsty_ tone.

Snapping out of her daze, Sakura quickly retrieved the 500 ryo and paid the probably homicidal chef. Ayame smiled pleasantly, the murderous aura being replaced by a bright and happy one. “Thank you for eating at Ichiraku Ramen, have a pleasant day!”

By the time she was finished, all she was speaking to was an empty stall. She beamed happily. ‘ _I still got that spark!_ ’

In the back of the stall Teuchi was crying tears of joy. ‘ _She’s so much like her mother! I’m so proud!_ ’

Meanwhile, up the street, the remnants of team seven were propped up against a building, attempting to catch their breath from their tactical retreat.

“Why…do you… eat there?!” panted Sakura.

“She’s…not so bad…if you pay her!” Naruto gasped.

“Well, don’t you two look energetic today!” a voice called out behind them.

The two Genin whipped around, their fatigue swiftly forgotten in their surprise, unable to believe their eyes.

“Kakashi-sensei?!” they shouted in surprise.

Indeed, there stood Kakashi Hatake, Copy-Ninja of the Leaf, in all his one-eyed glory.

“Miss me?” he asked pleasantly, tilting his head to the side and closing his sole visible eye in his usual eye-smile.

“But-but-but, you were supposed to have bed rest for a week due to chakra exhaustion!” Sakura exclaimed.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. “Lady Tsunade used an experimental medical jutsu on me to get me back on my feet.”

“Wait, if Granny Tsunade has a jutsu for chakra exhaustion, why isn’t she using it on the other ninja in the hospital?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi’s arm froze. “That…would be because of the side effects.”

Sakura raised an eyebrow. “What side-effects?” she asked slowly.

At this point, the fingers on Kakashi’s raised arm were twitching violently as he stood very, _very_ still. “The healing violently stresses out the muscles so that the body is one big cramp.” The Jounin’s fingers went stiff. “…and my last dose of anesthesia just wore off. Help…”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Hold on a second,” she said, and walked up to her sensei, fishing a needle from one of her kunai pouches.

Kakashi sighed in relief. “Thank you Sakur-ARGH!” he yelped in pain as Sakura mercilessly plunged the needle into his shoulder.

Sakura smiled kindly. “Consider this payback for the books and tardiness, _sensei,_ ” she said pleasantly, clapping – more like slamming – her hand on the man’s back.

Kakashi was caught between whimpering from the pain or growling at the annoying blond that was laughing vividly in the background.

**One minute later…**

After Kakashi had recovered and subsequently suppressed the memories of the incident, he continued his conversation with his students. “So, what had you two in such a panic?”

The two Genin shivered from the memory. Sakura swallowed loudly. “A homicidal ramen waitress.”

Kakashi’s eyes widened in realization before he spoke to Naruto. “Forgot your wallet did you?” Naruto nodded vigorously. Kakashi chuckled a bit at his Genin’s antics.

“Anyway,” he said, “I believe you two forgot something in your hurry, right?”

The two gained a puzzled look on their faces before Sakura remembered. “Lady Tsunade wants to see us!” she remembered.

Kakashi nodded happily. “That’s right. She needs to see us immediately.” He reached into his back pocket so that he could get his usual reading material. “Well, let’s get go-!”

Suddenly, he trailed off, his visible eye widening in shock. This familiar action caused Naruto and Sakura to equally halt.

‘ _No…_ ’

‘ _It can’t be!_ ’

But it was, for out of his pocket, the Jounin drew a familiar envelope, exactly like theirs. Same pristine condition, same star-shaped seal and same neat handwriting with the holders name on it.

Kakashi’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What is this?” he thought aloud.

“We don't know,” Naruto said quietly. “But...” he and Sakura drew their envelopes out of their pockets and showed them to a shocked Kakashi. “We have them too.”

Kakashi was speechless for a few moments before he got a determined look on his face... well, at least his eye. “We need to show these to Tsunade, immediately.” With that he turned around and started running towards the Hokage tower, his students hot on his trail.

**Location: Hokage Office**

The door to the office slammed inward. “Granny-OW!” Naruto’s exclamation was cut off by an empty sake bottle clipping his skull.

"Naruto," Tsunade Senju, Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, and probably the bustiest woman in the Elemental Nations, growled fiercely. "First, I told you to stop calling me that, and second, can't you see you're interrupting a meeting?!"

Looking around, Naruto finally noticed the three other occupants of the room: the stoic Shino Aburame, the boisterous Kiba Inuzuka and his mega-mutt Akamaru, and the ever shy and reserved Hinata Hyuuga. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Um... oops?”

Hinata blushed upon seeing her crush. ' _Naruto..._ '

Naruto noticed Hinata's flushed face and quickly got close.

"Hey Hinata, do you have a fever?"

Maybe a bit too close. _Thunk._ "Hinata!"

The other occupants of the room sweatdropped. _‘Is he honestly that stupid?’_ was the shared thought.

Sakura sighed. “Move aside Naruto, I’ll get her up,” she said as she moved forwards, her hand already glowing green.

Moving back from Hinata’s prone form, Naruto turned to Tsunade. “Er, sorry for bursting in Gra-ah, I mean Lady Tsunade!” He corrected as she narrowed her eyes and reached for another bottle. “But this is really important!”

“I imagine it is Naruto,” Tsunade said. “But this takes precedence,” Tsunade gestured towards three objects on her desk.

Three envelopes, lined side by side with three names on them. _Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame,_ and of course, _Hinata Hyuuga._

“Team eight found these within their clothes this morning despite them not initially being there. We were about to discuss…” Tsunade trailed off when she noticed the shocked looks on the faces of team seven. “Do you know something about this?” she demanded.

“About as much as you do…” Kakashi said quietly as he and his students drew out their envelopes to the shock of the others.

Shino adjusted his glasses, albeit with a slight shake in his hand. “This makes even more illogical. Why? Because you are a Jounin, and should have easily noticed it.”

“Actually, it makes perfect sense. I had that thing on me all morning, but neither me, Akamaru, nor anyone in the whole damn compound was able to smell it!” Kiba said, his dog barking in agreement.

The revived Hyuuga heiress nodded as well. “Y-y-yes, and n-n-nobody in the H-H-Hyuuga compound n-n-noticed either, b-but I p-passed several who w-w-were using the B-B-Byakugan,” she stated nervously.

Tsunade furrowed her brow. “Put them on my desk. We have no idea what they are. Best no one touches them.”

Hastily, team seven placed their envelopes alongside the others. “Now then, what should we-!” She was interrupted by someone hastily knocking on the door. Frowning at the interruption, she turned to Kakashi. “Let them in.”

When the door opened, in walked three memorable figures. Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara, known as both the second generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, also as team ten.

Naruto brightened upon seeing two faces he hadn’t seen in a while. “Chouji, Ino, longtime no see you guys!” he exclaimed happily.

Chouji smiled seeing his old friend. “Hey Naruto, didn’t know you were back!”

Ino was equally pleased at seeing her fellow blonde. “Good to have you back Naruto,”

Shikamaru sighed loudly at the greetings. “Troublesome blondes… I know it’s good to see each other again but aren’t you two forgetting why we’re here?” This statement quickly caused the whole room to sober up.

“And why _are_ you here exactly?” Tsunade queried.

“Because, this morning,” Ino said, “We found these in our pockets.” At this statement, her and her teammates each drew out envelopes. Pristine, star-sealed envelopes.

“You see,” Chouji said to the stunned room, “We just put our hands in our pockets and-”

“-There they were, even though you had no idea they were there in the first place,” Sakura finished numbly.

Chouji blinked in surprise. “Y-yeah, how did you know?”

“Troublesome…” Shikamaru sighed. “I guess it has to do with the ones already on the desk, right?”

His teammates reeled back in shock when they finally noticed the envelopes in question. “S-six of them?” Ino stuttered.

“Well, this can’t be good,” Chouji whispered.

Tsunade sighed at her mounting headache. “Put those things on the desk. And be careful!”

After team ten had complied, Tsunade picked up where she had left off. “Now, as I was saying, what-” Once again she was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

Gritting her teeth in exasperation, she leveled a glare at Kakashi, who got the idea and hastily opened the door. As soon as the door was opened, in came three _more_ memorable Leaf ninja. Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji Hyuuga, the members of team Gai.

“Good morning lady-!” Lee’s most youthful shout was cut off by Tsunade’s raised hand.

“Lee, unless you have a damn good reason for interrupting my meeting and making my migraine even worse, get out before I throw you out,” she growled.

Hastily covering her teammate’s mouth, Tenten slapped a very scared grin on her face and attempted to calm down her idol. “S-sorry about him Lady Tsunade, but this is very important.”

“Indeed,” Neji concurred as he stepped forward. “This morning, as we were training-”

“You discovered mysterious envelopes in your pockets that you had never seen before?” a bored Shikamaru droned on.

Neji whipped his head around. “... yes. How did you know?”

“Because apparently these troublesome things are all the rage lately,” Shikamaru said snarkily as he gestured towards the desk.

Tenten’s eyes widened in shock. “Well that’s not good…”

“Yes, it is most unyouthful!” exclaimed Lee.

Tsunade kneaded the bridge of her nose in annoyance. “Just…put the damn things on the desk.”

With that done, Tsunade tried _once more_ to continue. “Now, as I was saying-” Once more, someone knocked on the door, but on the first knock, Tsunade had stood up, barged over to the door, and practically ripped it off its hinges.

Standing in the doorway was the shell-shocked, sexy, and _still_ tragically single Jounin, Anko Mitarashi.

“Uh…” she said dumbly.

“Mysterious envelope in your pocket?” growled Tsunade.

Anko jerked back. “How did you- GAH!” Before she could finish her question, Tsunade had yanked her into the office, door slamming shut behind them.

“Put it on the damn desk and let’s be done with it already,” Tsunade said, irritated as she slumped back into her chair before she took a swig from one of her sake bottles.

Quickly complying, Anko slapped her envelope on the desk and backed off before she earned anymore of the Hokage’s ire. Noticing the other occupants of the room, she smiled and greeted them pleasantly.

“Hey brats, hey pervert!” Well, her version of pleasant anyway…

“Hi crazy snake lady!” Naruto greeted, a greeting that forced him to hastily dodge a kunai being lodged in his skull.

Finished with her drinking, Tsunade _once more_ started talking. “Now, _as I was saying_!” she shouted loudly whilst glaring at the door, as though daring anybody to so much as attempt to interrupt them.

“We all know how these things were found, and for those of you not clued in yet,” she glared at Naruto and Lee when she said this, “They’re practically impossible to discover, not showing up on the Byakugan, or through enhanced scent. Any questions?” Silence. “Good. Now then, I believe one of the more obvious questions to ask right now is this; what the hell are we going to do with these things?”

Anko rubbed her chin in thought. “Well, we could try showing it to a few of our guests back at T & I, maybe they know. And if they refuse to cooperate,” she grinned savagely, “I can try and... _reason_ with them.”

Almost shivering at the brutal thoughts clearly running through the snake mistress, Kakashi added his thoughts. “We could also call Kankuro from Sand and use his puppets to safely open them.”

Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement. “For now though, we should get them somewhere secure, and keep both them and the recipients, myself included, under guard, in case the person who planted the troublesome things is still watching us.”

While the rest of the room had been listening to the ideas being thrown out, Naruto had tuned out of the conversation. Unfortunately, his patience had finally worn thin.

“Gah, enough already, let's just open them and see what's inside!” And before anyone could stop him, he’d snatched up the letter with his name on it from the desk and torn it open.

_Rip_!

The other occupants if the room had hastily taken cover behind the sparse furniture in the room and were ready when...nothing, absolutely nothing happened. All there was was Naruto standing in the center of the room with an opened envelope in his hands and a confused expression on his face.

“Um, what’s wrong?” he asked... right before Sakura punched him. In the face. Hard. “Ow! What was that for?!” he shouted, pulling his face from the floor.

“That was for being an absolute moron! What if that had been a bomb or something?!” an angry Sakura retorted, shaking her fist threateningly.

“But it wasn’t a bomb, so I’ve just saved us from wasting a lot of time over nothing!” Naruto countered desperately.

Standing up from where he had hidden, Shikamaru heaved a heavy sigh. “As troublesome as he is, Naruto is right. The thing is already open, might as well look inside.”

“On it!” Naruto said as he started reaching inside the envelope.

“Yes, we might as well look inside, despite the possibility of it containing something extremely deadly… and therefore troublesome,” Shikamaru continued in his usual lazy tone.

This gave Naruto reason to pause. Gulping in sudden fear, he hastily formed a Shadow Clone and handed the envelope off to it as he took cover behind the desk.

With as much trepidation as the original, the clone reached into the envelope and withdrew a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, the clone scanned the paper before sighing in relief. “It’s a letter!”

“Really?! Let me see!” Jumping from behind the desk, Naruto snatched the letter from his clone’s hands before dispelling him. Naruto gained a confused look on his face before shaking it off. ‘ _Why do I think I know part of the letter already? Ah well, I’ll think about it later._ ’

“Is it really…just a letter?” Sakura asked.

“Troublesome…all that worry for nothing,” Shikamaru complained.

“No,” Naruto said, his serious tone of voice shocking the others. Looking at him, they realized that he looked different, as though he had become more attentive. “This is definitely not nothing.”

“N-Naruto...?” Hinata asked.

“Here, look at it.” And with that, he handed it off to Tsunade who, upon scanning the letter, widened her eyes in shock.

“Th-this is-?!”

“Yeah, I know.” While on the outside he was calm, internally he felt close to a panic attack. ‘ _How? How the hell do they know about the damn fox?!_ ’

“So what does it say?” Ino asked leaning forward, eager for a piece of gossip.

“No!” Naruto exclaimed in a panic as he snatched the letter from Tsunade’s hand and hid it in his jacket. This left the others extremely stunned.

“N-Naruto, w-what’s wrong?” Hinata asked quietly.

Naruto broke out in a cold sweat. “Guh...um, I-I, er..,” He was at a loss for words. He couldn’t very well tell them he had a demon inside himself, but he couldn’t explain his reaction.

Thankfully, Tsunade came to his rescue. “Leave him alone. That letter contains extremely personal information about Naruto,” she reprimanded, her eyes narrowing.

Ino flushed with embarrassment before she turned to Naruto. “S-sorry Naruto, I had no idea! Is it that bad?”

Naruto nodded his head. “Yeah,” he stated solemnly. “It’s really important.”

Shikamaru frowned. “If it’s really that bad for Naruto..” He turned towards the letters. “Then how bad is it in the others?”

Everyone present in the room shared a look before Lee decided to speak up. And by speak up, that means shout. “YOSH! The only way we will ever know is if we open them ourselves!”

Tsunade nodded in agreement. “Everyone, pick up your letters and read them. No one is allowed to read anyone else’s without their _express_ permission. Once you’re done, we’ll see what parts correspond. Agreed?”

Everyone expressed a sign of understanding. “Then get to it.”

Slowly, the rooms individuals took their respective letters. Many looks were shared before finally, the letters were torn open.

The reactions were... diverse. Most of them stumbled as their legs became weak. Others tensed suddenly, nearly tearing the paper. Kakashi's hand twitched, while Anko slowly grabbed the side of her neck. Shock was apparent on everyone’s faces.

“H-how…!?” Ino stuttered.

“This is impossible. Why? Because no one else knew about this,” Shino stated, his usually calm facade broken by the cold sweat glistening on what little of his skin was visible.

Anko’s reaction was a bit more violent. “How the hell do they know this?!” she snarled at Tsunade, fury burning in her eyes.

Tsunade met the angry stare with cold indifference. “Stand down Anko. That’s exactly what we’re trying to figure out.” She turned towards the rest of the room. “Is everyone alright now?”

By that time, the room’s occupants had had time to deal with what they had read and gave signs of affirmation. “Good. Now let’s see what these things have in common.”

Everyone in the room snapped out of their reveries and paid attention. “First off, the handwriting in the letter is the same as that on the envelope, correct?” Everyone gave various remarks of confirmation.

“Because of that, we can tell that these letters were all written by the same person,” Shikamaru mused before he sighed, though he was obviously tense. “Troublesome…”

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. “And yet this person keeps referring to himself in plural, right?” Everyone agreed again.

“The writer does say that he is part of a larger organization,” Kakashi stated.

“He also says that they’ve been watching us for a long time,” Sakura said.

“A-and he also s-says t-that his organization is i-impressed by our strength a-and…” Hinata trailed off.

“His organization wants us to join them,” Neji finished for her.

“He also says that if we accept, we should all show up at a specified place at the right time,” Anko said.

“And that we should pack for a long time,” Tenten added.

“That this is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Kiba said.

“They also all have the same troublesome signature,” Shikamaru complained.

“The Order of Stars,” Naruto concluded.

Everyone stood in a quiet unease, no one daring to mention how all the letters alluded to secret, emotional, and not to mention extremely private parts of the readers’ lives.

Finally, Naruto broke the silence. “So what do we do now!?”

Sakura was swift to reprimand Naruto. “Are you serious!? It’s obvious that we can’t actually go!”

“I know that!” Naruto defended, “But in that case what _do_ we do?”

“Actually, I think that you all _should_ go,” Tsunade interjected, causing everyone in the room to stare at her incredulously. Before anyone could protest, she held up her hand.

“We already know that whoever or whatever this organization is, it is incredibly powerful. They managed to break into a secure ninja village, plant untraceable letters on the persons of some of our most effective ninja without their knowledge, and have extensive, private information. It’s safe to assume that if they were hostile they most likely would have taken action long before now. There is no guarantee that they mean us no harm, but with the ninja going on this mission, they would be hard-pressed to injure you all. At the very least, this way we can discover what they want.”

Everyone was quiet as they considered her words before they all nodded in acceptance at her words.

“Alright, that’s the plan,” Naruto said “But again, what do we do now?”

“Go home, all of you,” Tsunade said. “Pack your gear, enough for an extended mission at the least. We don’t know how long you’ll be gone, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. As of this moment, this is considered an S-rank mission. You may tell your families that you will most likely be gone for a while, but no more. Meet at the Academy ten minutes from midnight, and then proceed to the rendezvous point. Am I understood?”

“Yes Lady Tsunade!” Everyone, even Naruto, exclaimed as they snapped into a salute.

“Dismissed.” With that, everyone rushed out, heading to their respective homes to prepare for whatever the future held in store for them.

Left alone, Tsunade sat in silence contemplating the recent events, save from a different angle. ‘ _Why? Why the_ hell _did they receive those letters? Why these specific people?’_  Tsunade growled as she kneaded the bridge of her nose. ‘ _Could it have been them? Even if it was them, why did they sign it like that? Heck, why even tell them they can join? They don’t have the ability to make them members!’_  Tsunade heaved a sigh and fished out a bottle of sake from her desk and began chugging it down, one last thought running through her head. ‘ _One thing is for sure, a shit-storm has just started up, and I’ll bet anything that it doesn’t end here!_ ’

Unknowingly, Tsunade won that bet, and as always, the rule held. If the Legendary Sucker won a bet, it could only mean there were dark things looming on the horizon.

-0-

**Location: Hidden Leaf, Cabin in the woods, 11:55 P.M.**

All was quiet. Night had fallen, most creatures had fallen asleep, and not even the wind dared rustle the countless nearby leaves.

The silence was mutely broken by the muffled landings of thirteen ninja and a dog on the grass nearby.

After a few moments the dog barked at its owner.

“Akamaru can’t smell anybody nearby. We’re alone,” Kiba stated. Almost immediately the group relaxed, the tension dissipating.

“Alright, everyone fan-out and keep an eye open,” Kakashi ordered. “Hinata, Neji, it goes double for you. Keep your Byakugan active.” The two Hyuuga nodded, simultaneously activating their kekkei genkai. “Anko, summon some snakes and have them check out the surrounding area.”

“You got it!” She proclaimed. Anko swiftly – and with a bit more flair than necessary – went through the necessary hand seals.

“Summoning jutsu!” In a puff of smoke, twenty snakes of varying sizes and colors appeared, slithering off into the surrounding forest and unnerving the other ninja, much to Anko’s hidden amusement.

Or as hidden as possible when she was laughing her ass off at their discomfort.

Rolling his eyes at his fellow Jounin’s antics Kakashi continued. “Naruto, make some shadow clones and- Naruto?” Kakashi stopped when he finally noticed that Naruto wasn’t moving.

Naruto was frozen in his spot, staring blankly at the shack that was placed on the edge of the clearing. His reason for this state was that he was currently reliving one of the best yet worst moments of his life.

“ _Let’s see…the first skill is…Shadow Clone?_ ”

“ _Hey! I found the nose-bleeder!_ ” “ _IDIOT! I FOUND YOU!_ ”

“ _Naruto, give me the scroll!_ ”

“ _Naruto! Don't give him the scroll, even if you die!_ ”

“ _What…kind of rule is it?_ ” “ _The rule is that no one is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the demon fox!_ ”

“ _The demon fox would do that…but Naruto is different…_ ”

“ _Don’t touch Iruka-sensei, I’ll kill you!_ ”

“ _Naruto, come over here. There’s something I want to give you…_ ”

“ _Okay, you can open your eyes…_ ”

“ _Congratulations, you pass!_ ”

“-ruto! Naruto!” Naruto jerked in surprise when he realized someone was shaking him. Looking to his left, he saw that Sakura had her hand on his shoulder, and a concerned look on her face. “Naruto, re you okay? You zoned out for a second.”

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Heh, sorry, just remembering some stuff that happened here awhile back.”

Sakura raised an eyebrow. “Really? What?”

“Um…” Naruto looked around, noticing that the rest of the group was glancing at him curiously, silently asking him to elaborate. “This is where I learned how to use shadow clones!”

“Really?” Kiba asked in surprise. “How’d you learn it way out here?”

“Well, it all started on the day of the Academy’s final exam,” Naruto started. “While everyone was celebrating their graduation, I was… er… admiring the grass! Yeah, that’s it!” The rest of the Rookie Nine present winced at the barely veiled lie, remembering how miserable he had been, and more importantly, how they had all unjustly ignored him. It made them all feel quite guilty.

“Anyway, while I was… admiring the grass,” Naruto continued, “Mizuki came to talk to me. He told me how he was sorry about me failing the exam, and that he had tried to change Iruka’s mind. Then, he told me… that he wanted to give me a second chance.”

“What!? Naruto, the exam results are final, there are no second chances!” Ino exclaimed in shock.

“How was I supposed to know? Besides, I failed three times in a row, I was desperate!” Naruto protested.

“Troublesome…” Shikamaru sighed, “We get it Naruto, desperate times, desperate measures.”

Naruto took a deep breath. “Yeah, you’re right, sorry. Anyway, as I said, Mizuki told me he was giving me a second chance. If I could complete one task, one single task, I’d graduate.”

“And this task was…?” Tenten asked, already dreading the answer.

Naruto swallowed, his eyes screwed shut in anticipation of their reactions. “… to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Tower and learn a jutsu from it…”

Silence reigned in the clearing as everyone present tried to process what they had just heard.

Finally, Anko broke the silence. “So let me guess. You crashed and burned stealing it?”

Naruto brightened at this. “The opposite, actually. Stealing it was the easy part, all I had to do was show the old man one jutsu and the scroll was mine!”

Sakura, having recovered from her shock, quickly ran through the list of jutsus Naruto had known way back then. Upon reaching a conclusion, she tightened her grip on the blonds shoulder. “Naruto,” she said in a disturbingly pleasant voice that chilled Naruto to the bone. “You don’t mean the jutsu I _think_ you mean, _do you_?”

Naruto swallowed heavily. “M-m-maybe?”

“Um, S-sakura, d-don’t you want N-naruto to c-c-continue his story?” Hinata intervened.

Sakura loosened her grip on her teammate’s shoulder. “Alright,” she said, “But we are having a long and serious talk about this later,” Everyone present could tell that the word 'serious' was interchangeable with 'painful'.

“A-anyway, after I got the scroll, I came here, where Mizuki had told me to come and show him a jutsu. The first jutsu in the scroll was the shadow clone jutsu. Took me a couple of hours to get it down…”

“Hang on a sec,” Kiba interrupted, “Why was the shadow lone jutsu in the scroll? I mean, you can pull it off effortlessly!”

“Psh, that’s an easy one,” Anko answered, “The jutsu’s a B-rank cause it takes a metric shitload of chakra to make even _one_ clone. The only way to actually use them in combat is to have reserves as big as blondie’s.” ' _And we all know that rumor about how chakra capacity is proportional to the size of the package below,_ ' Anko thought perversely, licking her lips.

Shivering at how the snake mistress was eying him like a piece of meat, Naruto continued his story. “W-well, shortly after I learned how to do it, Iruka showed up. I thought he was there to test me, so I got ready to show him my new jutsu. But then… he pushed me down and shielded me from a bunch of kunai.”

Those unaware of the story started in shock. “What? Who would do that?” Tenten asked.

Naruto hung his head sadly. “It was Mizuki. He told Iruka how he’d tricked me into stealing the scroll and coming here, he,” Naruto gripped his stomach. “… he called me a monster.” Sakura, Kakashi, and Anko were the only ones aware of what he was _really_ talking about.

“W-what happened next. N-naruto?” Hinata asked. She was curious as to why exactly Naruto was called _monster_ , but she shoved that bit of information away for a later date.

Naruto forged on. “I… I ran. I was scared, confused, I-I had no idea what to do. Then, I ended up at a clearing where Mizuki had cornered Iruka. Mizuki insulted me more, called me a demon, but Iruka,” Naruto smiled sadly. “He defended me, he said he knew what it was like to grow up alone, said he was proud of me! And when Mizuki tried to kill Iruka, I defended him.” Now Naruto’s grin was happy. “I used the shadow clone jutsu! I made lots of them, and I beat the crap outta him!”

The rest of the ninja present stared at him in awe. A three-times failed academy student defeating a fully-fledged Chuunin? It was unheard of.

“When it was all over,” Naruto continued, lost in his memory. “Iruka called me over. He told me to close my eyes. When I opened them again, he’d put his headband on me. He…” Naruto paused, remembering the happiest moment of his life. “He told me I’d passed.”

The ones who didn't know the story were in shock. They’d always wondered how he’d gotten his headband, how he’d passed despite having failed for the third time in a row, but for it to be something like this, they were practically dumb-founded.

“Wow Naruto, that’s incredible!” Ino said.

“Indeed. Why? Because few would have been able to do what you did,” Shino added as he adjusted his glasses.

“Sure beats any stories I have!” Kiba exclaimed. Akamaru tilted his head at his master, barking a couple of times, the last bark being rather high pitched, perhaps a question. Instantly, Kiba’s face flushed in embarrassment. “You promised never to speak of that again!”

“Yosh! Your flames of youth burn ever brighter, Naruto!” Lee shouted exuberantly, tears of pure joy streaming down from his round eyes.

Neji smiled. “Not bad for the dead-last.”

“I gotta admit, despite the idiocy, that was pretty ballsy,.” Anko chuckled.

‘ _Even back then Naruto was strong…_ ’ Hinata thought.

Naruto grinned happily, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he blushed profusely. “Ah, c’mon guys,”

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask at his student’s antics. ‘ _Nice to see you happy Naruto._ ’Kakashi frowned. ‘ _But why can’t I help but feel as though we’re forgetting something?’_ Suddenly remembering, he checked his new watch that he had snapped on his wrist. Seeing the time, he bit out a curse before addressing the group. “Enough reminiscing, it’s 11:59, only 15 seconds left before midnight!”

Reeling in shock, the gathered ninja hastily took positions along the border of the clearing, combing the surrounding woods for any sign of whomever they were supposed to be meeting.

Shikamaru was internally berating himself. _‘Damn it, how could we have possibly have forgotten the time?_ ’He glanced at Naruto. ‘ _That must have been why the set the rendezvous here, they hoped to trigger Naruto’s emotions and distract us._ ’Sighing dejectedly, the shadow user returned his gaze to the dark forest. _‘Well, no point crying over spilled milk now._ ’

“Get ready! Midnight in 10…”

Tenten tensed in preparation, tightly gripping the storage scroll on her lower back.

“9…”

Neji focused as much chakra as he could spare into his Byakugan, sending his gaze far into the forest, yet coming up with nothing.

“8…”

Shino listened intently, his kikai buzzing within him, prepared to be unleashed with a moment’s notice.

“7…”

Lee stood stock still in his combat stance, ready to leap at anything coming his way.

“6…”

Ino had her hands in her family’s personal hand seal, scanning the woods for anyone but coming up empty.

“5…”

Akamaru whined at Kiba, who glanced at him before nodding in agreement. Neither could smell a thing.

“4…”

Anko strained her eyes at the darkness. Though she was only recently promoted to Jounin, her senses we far above normal, and yet, she noted in frustration, she _still_ couldn’t see anything.

“3…”

Sakura cracked her knuckles, gathering her chakra in her fists.

“2…”

Kakashi raised his headband, exposing the crimson Sharingan.

“1…”

Naruto brought his hands up into his usual cross-shaped hand seal, his chakra ready to burst forth in the form of a torrent of clones.

“0!”

Suddenly, without a single sign of warning, a light, brilliant and blinding burst forth… _from the center of the clearing_!

Shocked, the ninja all turned around almost simultaneously, uttering expressions of shock and fear.

Naruto only had the time to shout “What the he-!” before the light washed over him, cutting him and his friends off.

**Location: ???**

“What on Earth are you wearing!? It’s so…ASSYMETRICAL!”

“BEANSPROUT, THIS IS YOUR FAULT, I JUST KNOW IT!”

“I can't believe my eyes! Even though I don't have any! YO HO HO HO, SKULL JOKE!”

“Inuyasha, would you stop-! Oh, forget it, SIT BOY!”

“SHUT UP, GRAY! THIS IS GETTING ME FIRED UP!”

“Ciaossu!”

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A MINISCULE SPECK OF DUST NOT EVEN WORTH THE TIME TO STEP ON!?!”

“Rangiku, I understand that you might be frightened, but would you please LET ME GO AND STOP SUFFOCATING ME!?”

“Hey Neg-meister, check it out, we’re in hog-heaven!” THWACK! “OW! ASUNA! STOP HITTING ME! HELP! ANIMAL ABUSE!”

“WHAT  THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?!”

**To be continued…**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. Well ladies and gentlemen, here’s the REAL Chapter 2! Truth is that unforeseen circumstances forced me to post it when it was only half-way done, but I managed to polish it up rather nicely in my opinion! Anyway, here’s the real way it was supposed to end, and I’m really sorry for taking so long, I suffered from a terrible disease known as procrastination. I’m lazy and love reading the stuff on this site, sue me! XP Anyway, I’ll try and be faster on future chapters, just humor me. I promise, the only time this fic will truly die is when I’m in the grave! Anyways, thanks a lot for reading, so please go ahead and review, I CRAVE motivation! Also, many thanks to my faithful editor HTM, without whom none of this would be possible. Till next chapter, Xomniac out!
> 
> Editor's note: *yawn* You know how stuff happens but stuff comes in the way before stuff gets done? No? Neither do I. So let's get on with doing this shit!


	3. Multiversal Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**-0-**

**Location: Unknown**

Negi had a headache.

Unknown to his fellow teachers, his students, or even his closest, pactio-wielding friends, he was quite prone to acquiring headaches.

But of course, who wouldn’t in his situation? He was the teacher of 31 teenage girls, each with their own unique personalities, quirks, and problems! Sure, he loved his class to death and God help whatever fool tried to threaten or hurt them, but not even he was completely immune to Class 3-A’s antics!

Right now, his headache was tantamount to a full day of attempting to teach the class how to properly conjugate an adverb in the definite future tense. After Asuna and Ayaka started fighting. _Multiplied by ten._

What was causing this headache? Nothing much, just a slight change of scenery and a _minor_ situation.

Well, maybe calling it a “slight” change of scenery would be a mistake. After all, not many would call suddenly going from in front of a freakishly tall tree to an empty white void “slight”.

And also, “empty” would be just as big a misnomer, seeing how there were other people in the seemingly endless white expanse besides Negi and his friends.

Which was, in fact, the “minor situation”…

“Someone better tell me where the hell we are or else things are going to get rough!” “Aw c’mon Yu, calm down!” “DON’T CALL ME YU, ONE-EYE!” “Kanda, leave him alone, Lavi, now’s not the best time to antagonize him!” “Butt out, bean-sprout!” “… _what did you call me?”_

“Hey you, Straw Hat guy, FIGHT ME!” “Natsu, will you just shut up already?!” “YOU WANNA  FIGHT GRAY!?” “Both of you, calm down!” “YES MA’AM!” “Well, looks like some things don’t change no matter where you are…” “Aye!”

“Hey you, step away from the Tenth!” “Gokudera, calm down, he was just-! GOKUDERA, PLEASE PUT AWAY THE DYNAMITE!” “WOAH! THIS PLACE IS EXTREMELY HUGE!” “Wow, these are some cool special effects.” “Back away, or I’ll bite you all to death.”

“Brother, will you _please_ stop trying to kill them? I’m sure it was an accident!” “LIKE HELL IT WAS! THEY CALLED ME A FILTHY MINISCULE COCKROACH!” “No they didn’t!” “HAHA! Man I love watching you squirm, Fullmetal! Hey, I think that the albino in the black coat called you a midget!” “HE SAID WHAT!?” “Greed, let the Prince go right now before I make you!” “Oh? You and what army, ninja-girl?”

“Well now, this is an odd predicament. Well, at least it’s not all bad. Pardon me miss, would you mind bearing my-?” SLAM! “OUCH! What did you do that for Sango!?” “WHAT!” SLAM! “THE HELL!” SLAM! “DO YOU THINK IT WAS FOR!?” SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! “Some idiots can’t take a hint, right Inuyasha?” “You got that right Ship-! HEY WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IMPLYING!?”

“WOW, THIS PLACE IS HUGE! IT’S ALMOST LARGE ENOUGH FOR A GUY AS AWESOME AS ME! HAHAHAHAHA!” “BlackStar will you shut up!? I’m trying to figure this out…Um, Liz, is Kid OK?” “Yeah, don’t worry about it, he gets like this sometimes when he’s in a crowd. We just have to wait awhile.” “Hee hee hee! His mouth is still foaming! Bubbly bubbly bubbly!” “There’s a weird bald guy with a spear doing a weird dance here! I don’t know how to deal with weird bald guys with spears doing weird dances!”

“Geeze this is troublesome.” “This doesn’t make any sense, how the hell does a _skeleton_ have a chakra system!?” “HEY GUYS, CHECK IT OUT, THAT CAT HAS WINGS!” “SOMEONE BETTER EXPLAIN WHERE THE HELL WE ARE, OR ELSE THINGS ARE GONNA GET MESSY!” “WOOF!”

Negi could only pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. Not only was the chaos of everyone talking highly distracting, but he could also see that tension was swiftly mounting. Shouts were becoming more aggressive, weapons were being drawn, and he could definitely see magic being prepped. Unless something happened soon, the situation would swiftly devolve into a battle royale.

Luckily, Negi had several points working for him. First off, as a teacher, he was at least _slightly_ used to this kind of chaos, and was able to pick out certain parts of the surrounding conversations. Second, Negi was, to put it simply, a genius; thanks to his extensive intellect, Negi was able to put together an argument he _hoped_ would be enough to get everyone to calm down. And finally, Negi’s magical specialties were Wind and Lightning based magic, and a little known fact about Wind-magic users was that they had quite powerful breath - though he had demonstrated this multiple times due to a few unfortunate incidents involving his students skirts and a high pollen count.

It was thanks to this powerful breath that Negi was capable of producing a whistle tantamount in volume to that of a fog-horn.

**FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!**

Everyone cringed in pain, hastily covering their ears to try and block out the horrendously loud noise.

When he stopped whistling, Negi immediately started talking before anyone else could start. “Please, everyone calm down and think about this rationally! Look, I realize that you’re agitated and scared, you don’t know where you are or how you got here, but everyone else here is exactly the same! Listen, I don’t want to be in this situation any more than any of you, but the fact of the matter is that we’re the only ones here, and I’m certain that if we work together, we can figure out what’s happened and go home. Alright?”

There were a few seconds of silence before several sounds and signs of affirmation were given by the people present, though more than a few were reluctant.

Negi sighed in relief. _‘Crisis averted. Now we just have to figure out what’s happened’_ He was snapped out of his thoughts by one of his friends.

“Wow Negi,” Said Asuna. “That wasn’t half bad!”

“She’s right boyo,” Evangeline said as she cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “Normally you’d have been panicking and scrambling to salvage that situation. Where’d this confidence spring from?”

“A lack of both sleep and coffee.” Negi groaned as he rubbed his eyes. “Believe me Evangeline; I just want this situation over with.”

“Oh?” Evangeline questioned as she grinned maliciously, baring her fangs. “And you’re not even slightly scared of the hell I’m going to put you through for not calling me Master?”

“Terrified. But right now we have bigger problems to deal with.” Negi deadpanned.

“Um, excuse me?” Everyone’s heads turned to look at a teenage Japanese girl who was in a high school uniform and carrying a bow and quiver. “If we’re going to be working together, shouldn’t we introduce ourselves?”

“She’s right,” This came from a blond girl with pigtails in what looked like a British school uniform with an indecently short skirt. “I might as well start. My name is Maka Albarn, and this,” She then gestured to the albino kid in the yellow jacket standing next to her. “Is my partner Soul.”

Soul raised his hand. “Yo.”

A kid with spiky blue hair suddenly jumped up and started shouting. “MY NAME IS BLACKSTAR AND I’M-!” SLAM! The kid fell over backwards, a lump smoking painfully upon his cranium. Behind him was a tall girl with her black hair in a long ponytail. She was rubbing the back of her head with one hand while the other held a kunai with the blunt end smoking.

She chuckled nervously. “Um, sorry about that, he gets like that sometimes. Anyways, my name is Tsubaki, and this is my partner, BlackStar.” She gestured nervously at the still twitching youth.

Next was a tall blond in a red shirt wearing a cowboy hat. She was standing over a kid in a black suit that had three white stripes in his hair. Crouching next to him was a girl dressed similarly to the one standing up. She was laughing happily as the kid in the suit’s mouth continued to foam.

The tall one sighed wearily. “Well, guess I’m next. My name’s Liz and this is my sister Patty.” Hearing her name, Patty looked up and waved, still grinning happily. “And this,” she nudged the unconscious boy with her foot. “Is our partner Death the Kid, or Kid for short. You’ll have to excuse him; he’ll probably be like this for a while.”

The next person squirmed uncomfortably as everyone’s gazes shifted onto…now that Negi looked at the person, he wasn’t sure whether or not it was a boy or a girl. The kid was wearing a black robe with a white collar and had short pink hair, but other than that, there was nothing about the person to denote gender.

The person glanced nervously left and right before looking down and sheepishly poking his(?) fingers together. “M-My name’s Crona,” Crona swallowed heavily having a hard time getting the next part out. “C-Crona Gorgon”

“Hey, are you a boy or a girl?” This was shouted by a boy in a red shirt with a straw hat on, who was swiftly struck over the head by an orange-haired lady.

Crona cringed at the question. “I-I’m a boy. C-Could you please stop staring at me? I-I only know one way to d-deal with people staring at me and I d-don’t want to let Ragnarok do it…”

“Who the hell is Ragnarok?” A man with spiky black hair and piercings asked rudely.

Crona opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a voice that seemed to originate from _within_ his body. _“ME, jackass!”_ Suddenly,Crona hunched over as his back started to bulge. A spout of black liquid ripped out of his back, taking the form of one of the oddest creatures Negi had ever seen. It was jet black, save for white spikes poking out of it and a white X that was centered on its face. There were two blank eyes with Xs for pupils on both sides of the X. “I’m the Demon Sword Ragnarok, and don’t you forget it!”

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone stared at the strange creature. Ragnarok looked around before raising what on his body passed as an eyebrow. “Heeey, what gives? I’m a sword made out of this brat’s blood that just popped out of his back, isn’t anybody gonna, I dunno, scream, attack, anything!?”

A kid in a black coat with white hair raised his hand. “Actually, we’ve seen a lot weirder.” There were mumbled agreements from everyone else.

Ragnarok blinked before slumping down. “Screw you guys…” He mumbled.

The kid with the white hair cleared his throat. “Well, I might as well go next. My name’s Allen Walker. This is Lenalee Lee,” A girl in black uniform with short black hair smiled and waved. “Kanda,” A tall man who had his hair in a long ponytail and was carrying a sword huffed. “Lavi,” A kid wearing an eye-patch with bright red hair smiled broadly. “Miranda Lotto,” A woman with sunken eyes and short, curly black hair jerked and gave a nervous smile. “And Arystar Krory III.” A tall man with a mostly black hair and a streak of white hair leading in front of his face smiled kindly, exposing a pair of fangs.

“That’s everyone with-!” Allen was cut off when a gold ball seemed to fly out of his pocket and slam into his forehead. “OW! Oh, sorry Tim!” Allen held out his hand, on which the winged gold ball landed, facing the crowd. “This is Timcanpy, my golem.” Timcanpy flew off of Allen’s hand and proceeded to flit amongst the crowd. “That’s everyone with us.”

“Oh! Oh! Me next! Me next!” This was shouted by a kid wearing a strawhat whose shirt was opened to expose a vicious scar shaped like an X on his chest. “My name’s Monkey D. Luffy, and I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!” This drew some murmurs and looks of apprehension from most people, as well as looks of respect from others.

“LUFFY!” A woman with long orange hair shouted. “For the love of-! Before anyone gets the wrong idea, we’re not like other pirates! We do not rape, loot, pillage, or plunder in general! Though if there is enough gold on the line…” The woman’s eyes glazed over as she started to drool before she snapped out of it. “Er, anyways! I’m Nami, the navigator; Also, the only sane one on the crew besides Robin over there.” She jerked her thumb at a black haired woman with a thin nose who was standing behind her with a tranquil smile.

A huge man with robotic arms struck a pose, slamming his gigantic forearms together above his head. “I’M THE SUUUUPEEEEER CYBORG SHIPWRIGHT, FRANKY!!!” This drew groans from half the assemble people, and looks of unending awe and admiration from others, Luffy included. There were also cries of excitement from a kid with pink hair wearing a scarf made of scales and a blonde kid with whisker marks on his cheeks.

A buff man who was wearing a strange pair of goggles and had an incredibly long nose puffed out his chest and pointed a thumb at himself. “I’m Usopp, and I’m the greatest marksman in the world!”

A man with green hair with three swords at his side huffed. He opened one of his eyes to send out a bone-chilling glare. “My name is Roronoa Zoro.” He stated. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “This guy’s Sanji, our shitty cook and resident pervert.” When he didn’t feel a foot slam into his head, he blinked in confusion before smirking and turning around. “What, you’re not even gonna deny it anymore you shitty-WHAT THE HELL!?”

He and everyone else stared in shock. Lying on the ground, a blond man in a suit had a fountain of blood spurting up from his nose. Kneeling next to him and seeming to treat him was a strange furry creature with a pair of antlers.

“Chopper, what’s wrong with him!?” Nami asked.

The creature, Chopper apparently, turned to Nami, panic evident in his eyes. “I don’t know! He got here almost immediately after we got here!”

“Is he gonna be OK?” Luffy asked in concern.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I recently stocked up on supplies, blood included. I just wish I knew what made him get like this.” Chopper said.

A tall skeleton that was somehow moving gave a facsimile of a sigh. “Phew, that’s a load off my bones, which is especially important for me! YOHOHOHO! SKULL JOKE!” The skeleton turned towards the crowd. “Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Brook. Pleased to meet you.” He turned towards the girl in the high-school uniform. “By the way young lady, may I see your-?”

Before he could finish his sentence, his face was re-acquainted with the bottom of Nami’s heel. “WILL YOU STOP ASKING THAT!?”

The girl looked on in fear for the skeleton. “Um, is he alright?”

Nami kneaded her forehead in frustration. “Believe me, he and the rest of these idiots have suffered worse, and you do _not_ want him to finish that question.” Nami looked at the girl. “So what’s your name?”

The girl jumped in surprise. “Oh! I’m Kagome Higurashi, nice to meet you! This is Inuyasha.” She gestured at a boy with silver hair and, surprisingly enough, dog ears, who was standing aside with his arms crossed and an unpleasant expression on his face. He grunted as acknowledgment. “Sorry about him, he’s not very…social.”

Next to step forward was a man in purple robes that was carrying a staff with a gold ring on top. “Hello. My name is Miroku.” He turned towards Robin. “Pardon me miss?” Robin raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Would you mind b-?”

That was as far as he got before a ludicrously huge boomerang slammed into the side of his head. “WILL YOU STOP ASKING THAT!?”

Nami raised an eyebrow at the twitching monk before turning towards the boomerang’s wielder. “You too, huh?”

The boomerang-user sighed as she slung her weapon over her shoulder again. She was wearing a black jumpsuit with plates of pink armor on it. “Every time he meets a girl. My name’s Sango by the way, this pervert,” she nudged Miroku with her foot. “is my fiancé.”

“Well guess that just leaves me.” Everyone looked down to see a short kid with a fox tail and fox ears. “Hi! My name is Shippo!” A small white cat with two tails jumped next to him and started nuzzling him. “Oh, sorry, almost forgot. This is Kirara.”

“That’s everyone who’s here with us.” Kagome said.

Nami blinked in surprise and pointed. “What about her, isn’t she here with you?” Kagome and her friends turned to see who she was pointing to and promptly recoiled in surprise.

Standing silently behind them was a woman with long black hair, clad in a priestess uniform. Her face bore a neutral expression.

“K-Kikyo!” Kagome exclaimed in shock. “How did you get here?!”

Kikyo looked at Kagome. “Same as the rest of you. I arrived at the Sacred Tree moments before the light did,” she stated in a flat voice.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Is she an enemy?” Luffy stated as he tensed up for a fight.

Inuyasha whipped around, his hand on his sword’s hilt, sneering at Luffy. “Try anything and I’ll rip your head off!” he growled.

Kagome rushed in front of Luffy. “No, stop! It’s alright! We…just weren’t expecting her is all.”

Everyone remained tense for a few seconds, but Kikyo didn’t move. Most of the people relaxed, but not everyone. Those who held more experience than others stayed in their alerted states. After all, almost everyone there had gotten ready to attack her if need be, but she hadn’t even flinched. This told them two things; a lot of the people present could and would put up a fight if the need arose, and this Kikyo woman was far more experienced than most would perceive.

One of these battle-ready individuals stepped forward. She was a woman who was wearing plate armor, had long red hair, and held a stern, no-nonsense expression on her face. “My name is Erza Scarlet. Me and my friends are mages from the Fairy Tail guild.”

Maka tensed slightly and narrowed her eyes. “Mage…” She asked cautiously. “As in…magic?”

Erza narrowed her eyes in return. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

Maka relaxed slightly and plastered a nervous smile on her face. “Oh, no reason.” Outside, she had a calm façade. Inside, her mind was awhirl. _‘She’s telling the truth, but their souls are fundamentally different from Witches. What the hell are these people!?’_

Erza kept her suspicious glare on Maka for a few seconds, but broke it off when one of her companions, this one with pink hair and a scarf that seemed to be made of scales, spoke up. “My name’s Natsu Dragneel! Hey, Luffy, right? Want to-HURK!” He was abruptly cut off when Erza trapped him in a chokehold at her side.

“I apologize for his behavior; he often gets rambunctious like this. No worries, I can pacify him.” Everyone watched nervously as Erza’s idea of ‘pacification’ appeared to be holding onto Natsu as his face ran through a series of surprising colors.

A girl with blond hair chuckled nervously as she looked on. “Yeah, this happens a lot…oh! And my name is Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you!”

The man next to her chuckled. He had messy black hair and, surprisingly enough, was clad solely in his boxers. “’A lot’, she says. Try daily!”

Lucy leveled a glare at him before smiling deviously. “Hey Gray~…” she said in a sing-song voice.

The newly named Gray slapped a hand over his face. “No, don’t tell me, I’m naked again aren’t I?”

Natsu managed to choke out a laugh. “ _Damn it!”_

A small girl with long black hair tapped tugged on Gray’s hand. “Um, Gray?” she held up a bundle of clothes. “I think these are yours.”

Gray smiled and took the clothes. “Thanks Wendy.”

“Hmph.” A lot of the people were shocked when a small white cat spoke up. “You can thank her by trying not to do that again.”

A blue cat standing next to her covered his mouth with his paw in an-unsuccessful-attempt to hide his smile. “Gray’s an idiot…”

A third cat, this one black with a scar over one eye, addressed everyone staring at them. “What, never seen a talking cat before?” Most shook their heads. Luffy tried to speak, but Nami hastily slapped her hand over his mouth.

A tall kid with orange hair and a huge sword strapped to his back spoke up, “Yeah, but it was just someone disguised as a cat.”

Soul raised his hand, “Same here, save that ours is a cat that disguises itself as a human.”

The black cat blinked in surprise. “Well, this isn’t a disguise, these are our real forms. We’re called Exceed. My name’s Pantherlily. This Is Carla,” The white cat nodded. “And Happy.” The blue cat smiled wide and waved.

Once Pantherlily was done talking, a woman with blue hair and a heavy coat made a small bow. “Juvia Lockser.”

A man with long, spiky black hair and lots of piercings stepped forward. “Gajeel Redfox, Iron Dragonslayer.”

“WOOOW! You’re a Dragonslayer? That’s so cool!” Luffy exclaimed.

“Yeah, he’s right, that’s awesome!” The blond with whisker marks yelled. “Hey, how many dragons have you killed?”

Gajeel grunted. “None, all the dragons disappeared a long time ago.”

Luffy and the blonde deflated. “Seriously?” The pirate asked. “That’s lame.”

“Yeah!” The blond agreed. “Why do you call yourself a Dragonslayer if you haven’t killed any dragons?”

“Because that’s not what being a Dragonslayer means.” Wendy said shyly. “When we were younger, Gajeel, Natsu and I were all raised by dragons, and they taught us magic. Gajeel was raised by Metallicana, a metal dragon, and learned Iron Dragonslayer magic, and I was raised by Grandine, a sky dragon, so I learned Sky Dragonslayer magic.”

At that point, Natsu managed to pop his head out from beneath Erza’s killer grip. “And I was raised by Igneel! He was really cool, and check it out!” Natsu thrust his hand in front of him, which suddenly came ablaze. “He taught me Fire Dragonslayer magic!”

Luffy and the blond gathered around the hand. “Wow, that’s so awesome!” Luffy exclaimed.

“Yeah, that’s incredible!” The blond concurred.

“I know, right!” Natsu said happily. Then he turned towards the blond kid. “Hey, what’s your name?”

The blond blinked before drawing himself upright and pointing a thumb at himself. “I’m Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha Village!”

Luffy blinked in confusion. “What’s a Hokage? Can you eat it?”

“No!” Naruto said. “The Hokage is the strongest, most respected ninja in Konoha!”

Natsu and Luffy froze as they stared at Naruto. “Hang on a second, does that mean you’re…” Luffy said quietly.

“A ninja!?” Natsu finished incredulously.

Naruto looked between the two nervously. “Yeah?” He said anxiously.

Natsu and Luffy slowly looked at each other before they whipped their heads around to Naruto again, this time with stars in their eyes. “AWESOME!!!”

Naruto reared back in surprise. “R-really!?”

“Heck yeah!”

“Ninjas are so cool!”

Naruto quickly recovered before smirking. “Then you’ll love this!” Naruto raised his hands in a cross-shaped handsign. “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke, and standing next to Naruto was…a second Naruto!

Luffy and Natsu’s jaws dropped. “COOL!”

Naruto and his clone both rubbed beneath their noses. “I know right?” They looked at Luffy curiously. “Hey Luffy, what can you do?”

Luffy grinned happily. “I ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit, so now I’m a Rubber Man,” He hooked a finger in his cheek and pulled, stretching his entire cheek at least half a foot to the surprise of everyone who wasn’t a member of Luffy’s crew. “Ad now I can do schtuff lige dis!”

“Wow!”

“That’s gotta be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!”

Sadly, all good things must end. And this happy gathering was swiftly ended by three crushing blows from three female fists.

Nami ground the heel of her palm into her forehead. “I’m _so_ sorry about Luffy, he never knows when to shut up.”

Erza sighed. “I know the feeling; I have to constantly keep Natsu under control.”

The pink-haired girl who had took out Naruto groaned dejectedly and slumped forward. “I feel your pain, I really do.”

Naruto groaned as he got up. “Their pain!? You’re kidding right?”

The pink-haired girl hit the back of his skull again without even looking. “Shut up and stay quiet please.” She drew herself upright. “Anyways, my name is Sakura Haruno, I’m Naruto’s teammate.”

Nami blinked in surprise. “So you’re a ninja as well?”

Sakura nodded. “Yes, we’re all ninja from Konoha, a.k.a. the Village Hidden in the Leaves.” Hearing this, one of the people standing with the group stiffened and cast a quick glance through the assembled ninja before slowly starting to tiptoe away, trying to draw as little attention as possible.

A man with spiky white hair raised his hand in a lazy wave. The only part of his face visible was his right eye, the rest was covered up. “Hi, I’m Kakashi Hatake. I’m the person in charge of these guys.” He said in a kind voice. Upon hearing his name, the person sneaking off increased their pace, remaining unnoticed.

A woman who had purple hair and was wearing a tan trench coat smirked in a playful yet predatory manor. “I’m Anko Mitarashi, Konoha’s Number One Se-MMPH!” She was cut off when Kakashi hastily clamped his hand over her mouth.

He offered a sheepish chuckle to the baffled onlookers. “Sorry, she can be rather lively at times.”

Naruto scoffed. “Lively? Are you kidding? She’s completely cra-YEARGH!” He was cut off due to dodging a very pointy kunai that had _somehow_ slipped out of Anko’s pocket.

It wasn’t her fault of course. The darn things were _ever_ so slippery, but that didn’t stop her from nonchalantly twirling them around her fingers while humming innocently.

Kakashi felt his eye twitch. “As I said…lively.” Anko giggled happily from behind his hand.

Another ninja, this one with his hair in a spiky top-knot, heaved a sigh. “Troublesome snake-woman…I’m Shikamaru Nara. These are my teammates, Chouji Akamichi,” A large boy wearing red armor who had been munching on a bag of chips waved, “And Ino Yamanaka,” A girl in a purple top and skirt smiled, “If it helps you remember us better, just think of us as Team 10.”

A boy whose hair was in a bowl-cut and was wearing a _horrible_ jumpsuit stuck his fist in the air and began introducing himself rather loudly. “HELLO! MY NAME IS ROCK LEE, IT IS A-!”

That was as far as he got before the butt-end of a kunai collided with his fore-head and knocked him out. To the shock of everyone present, the kunai came from-

“Tsubaki!?” Maka exclaimed in confusion.

The tall girl squeaked as she clapped her hands over her mouth. “I-I’m sorry! It’s just, living with BlackStar, I don’t mind his speeches but sometimes I have to stop him and, and, oh I’m so sorry!”

The two people who had been standing behind Lee, a girl who had her hair up in two buns and a boy whose eyes were extremely pale shared a glance before shrugging simultaneously. “Meh.”

Tsubaki blinked in confusion. “Wha-?”

“We do not have any grievances with what you just did.” The white-eyed boy stated bluntly.

“Truth be told, we were about to shut him up ourselves, you just beat us to the punch.” The girl said. She stooped down and picked up the kunai and began examining it closely. “Nice kunai, really well kept. Steel core with a tungsten skin?”

Tsubaki took a moment to realize what she was talking about. “Uhh…yes! It works better for me.”

The girl smiled and tossed the knife back to Tsubaki. “I know what you mean, I prefer to use a wide variety myself. I’m Tenten, and this is my teammate Neji Hyuuga. We’re Team 9.”

“Well, guess that means we’re up next!” A boisterous looking teen said loudly. He had red face paint shaped like fangs on his cheeks. “I’m Kiba Inuzuka, and these are my teammates, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga.” A boy in a hooded trench-coat adjusted his glasses, and a girl with long hair and pale eyes waved meekly. “We’re Team 8!”

The large dog sitting next to him barked loudly. Kiba opened his mouth to say something, but Chopper cut him off.

“He says his name is Akamaru and that he’s Kiba’s owner. He apologizes in advance for anything Kiba does. Apparently he’s not housebroken yet.”

This set off a round of laughter while Kiba blushed furiously. “Buh-wha-!?” He pointed a finger at his laughing dog. “Traitor!”

Kakashi chuckled at the antics. When the laughter died down, he addressed the crowd once more. “So, any questions?”

Luffy raised his hand. “Uh, yeah, what’s with those metal things you guys are wearing?”

Naruto thumbed the metal plate on his forehead. “These are our headbands, the symbol shows what village we’re from.”

Luffy crossed his arms and smiled happily. “Oh, alright then. I just asked cause that girl’s looked different.”

At that, all of the Leaf ninja’s attention was focused on Luffy. “Which girl are you talking about exactly?” Kakashi asked slowly.

Luffy blinked before turning around and pointing. “That girl over there.”

The crowd parted before him to reveal a girl who was very, very still, standing on her toes.

She slowly turned her head around, a nervous smile present on her face. “Ah heh heh…hi?”

She had brown skin, amber eyes, and bright, mint green hair. She was wearing a white top that exposed her midriff,a white skirt that was split up the sides over fishnet undergarments, and an orange clip in her hair. She was also wearing a pair of white arm-warmers. On her back, she was carrying a red tube covered by a red cloth, with red straps criss-crossing over her chest.

Her forehead protector was tied to her upper right arm. Luffy was right, it didn’t share the Leaf ninja’s symbol. Instead, it bore two jagged lines that reflected each other.

The girl turned around fully and held her hands behind her back, emitting the aura of being the perfect girl. “Sooo… nice weather, huh?”

Kakashi didn’t buy it for a second and instead cut straight to the heart of the matter. “Your forehead protector is from the Hidden Waterfall village. Who are you?”

At that question, she struck a pose. She tilted her head back, pointing one thumb at herself and other planting her other fist on her hip. “I’m the conqueror of awesome, and the purveyor of all goods! The Beautiful Green Menace, Waterfall's number one solo kunoichi, Fuu!"

Kakashi crossed his arms. “Never heard of you.”

She slumped forward with a sigh. “Yeah, no one ever has.”

Kakashi narrowed his eye. “Why were you in the Hidden Leaf and why did you follow us?”

Fuu looked up at him and blinked in confusion. “Wha-?” Her eyes shot wide as she realized exactly what he was talking about. She staggered back, shaking her head and arms vigorously. “No no no no, you’ve got it wrong, I wasn’t anywhere even _close_ to Konoha. I was in the Land of Rain when I got that stupid letter, AND when that light got me, I swear!”

Kakashi didn’t let up. “Waterfall and Leaf are allies, why did you try and sneak away?”

Fuu poked her fingers together sheepishly. “Well, you see, it’s not my fault. I was surrounded by foreign ninja in a strange place. And not just any foreign ninja, but the Copy Ninja Kakashi. I just did what I thought was right is all.”

“Then why are you a solo ninja? Waterfall uses three-man cells like us.”

This last question struck a nerve in Fuu, causing her to flinch.

Before Kakashi could press on, a short boy with spiky brown hair and brown eyes interposed himself between the two ninja. “Stop it! What’s the point of all these questions? All you’re doing is scaring her!”

With the verbal assault ended, Fuu was able to regain her confidence. “First off, it takes a lot more to scare me, and secondly, One-eye, I’ll have you know that I’m a solo kunoichi because I’m a Special Jounin, so there!”

Kakashi blinked in surprise for two reasons. First, he’d seen the boy earlier, and he’d been shaking like a leaf, scared out of his mind! Now though, he was standing in front of an older, more experienced person who could easily become an enemy and wasn’t even flinching. Second, the fact that someone as clearly young as Fuu managed to become a Special Jounin so quickly. The last person to do that had been, well, himself!

Putting these facts aside, Kakashi came to a decision. “You’re right,” He sighed. “I guess I was going a little overboard there, it’s just that you can never be too careful. Fuu, I apologize if I was being rude.”

The self-proclaimed “Beautiful Green Menace” blinked in surprise before giving a toothy smile. “Apology accepted,” She fixed Kakashi with a mock-glare, “Just don’t let it happen again,” She teased.

Kakashi waved his hand. “I won’t, I won’t.” He turned his eye towards the boy who’d interrupted him. “So, that was a pretty brave thing you did. What’s your name kid?”

The boy blinked in surprise before sheepishly scratching his head. “B-brave, me? N-no way! Anyways, I’m nobody special. My name’s Tsunayoshi Sawada, but everyone calls me Tsuna.”

“Ah, come on Tsuna, don’t undersell yourself!” This was said by a tall boy with short dark hair and a laid-back smile on his face. “You’re a great guy!”

A silver-haired teen smoking a cigarette took a step forward. “For once, I agree with the baseball freak, you’re an incredible man, Tenth!”

Kakashi blinked curiously. “Tenth?”

Tsuna hastily opened his mouth to say something but was cut off. “He’s referring to his title.”

Every looked around to see who had said that but no one could see who did.

“Down here.”

Those who looked down were stunned to see what appeared to be a newborn baby wearing a suit and fedora. Around his neck was a golden pacifier, and sitting on his fedora was a green chameleon.

“Ciaossu.”

Everybody reeled back in shock. “H-holy crap, did that baby just talk!?” Lucy exclaimed.

“Well this is new…” Lavi said bemusedly.

“Hey kid, wanna j-MMPH!” Luffy was cut off by Nami and Usopp simultaneously restraining him.

When the shock wore off, Anko leaned forward with a disbelieving look on her face. “So, brat…got a name?”

The baby returned her look with an unflinching stare. “I’m Reborn, the world’s number one hitman.”

Anko gained a savage grin. “Really? I’ll believe that when pigs-!” BANG!

Everyone froze. The only thing moving was the smoke slowly rising from the green pistol that had suddenly appeared in Reborn’s hand and was pointed a mere inch above Anko’s head. “Care to finish that sentence?”

Anko was stuck with her mouth wide open, frozen in shock. _‘Th-this killing intent! I-it’s huge! It’s suffocating! If he hadn’t been messing around…I’d be dead!’_

The pistol flashed green before reverting to the chameleon that had been on Reborn’s hat. “Didn’t think so.”

Reborn addressed the rest of the shocked onlookers. “As I was saying, Gokudera over there called Tsuna ‘Tenth’ because that is his title, the Tenth Boss of the Vongola Famiglia.”

Allen frowned in thought. “Hang on a second, famiglia, that’s Italian for family…” Allen looked up in shock. “You mean that kid is the boss of a mafia family!?”

“Yes,” “NO!!!”

These were stated calmly by Reborn and shouted hurriedly by Tsuna respectively.

The panicking brunette turned on the mini-hitman. “Reborn, I’ve already told you, I’m not going to become the Tenth Vongola Boss!!!”

The deadly baby glanced at the unwilling boss out of the corner of his eye. “And I told you, it’s my job to make you the boss.”

Tsuna spluttered. “Bu- I- Reborn-!”

He stopped babbling and started screaming when he found a gun pointed at his head. “Do you really want to argue this right now?”

Tsuna shook his head vigorously and breathed a sigh of relief when the gun once again transformed.

“So you’re being press-ganged into becoming the head of the mafia?” Kagome asked.

Tsuna nodded tiredly. “Just one Famiglia, but yeah. It’s not like I have much of a choice, the decision was made awhile back, and I’m the last descendant of the First Vongola Boss, Primo, so now even if I say no, I’ll _still_ have people gunning for me.”

Kagome pursed her lips before turning on the other people in the group. “And what about you? You’re his friends, aren’t you? Why are you letting this happen?!”

The silver-haired one, Gokudera, bristled angrily. “Hey, watch it! We’re the Tenth’s Family, it’s our job to protect him! Even if the rest of these guys are idiots, I’m the Tenth’s right hand, I’ll protect him with my life!”

The tall smiling boy shrugged. “He’s right. Tsuna is our friend we wouldn’t let anyone hurt him. By the way, my name’s Takeshi Yamamoto, but please, call me Yamamoto.”

There came a noise that sounded like someone choking on spit from a group of people who were wearing black kimonos, but other than that things continued to proceed as normal.

Another boy, this one with white hair and a bandage across his nose stuck his fist in the air. “HELLO! MY NAME IS RYOHEI SASAGAWA, IT IS _EXTREMELY_ -!” THUNK! THUNK!

He was cut off when the blunt sides of two kunai simultaneously struck his forehead and knocked him out.

The first one came, at this point to the surprise of no one, from-

“TSUBAKI!”

“I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to, it was a reflex, I swear!”

As for the other one…

“Tenten, was that _really_ necessary?”

“Oh come on, you train with Gai and Lee on a daily basis and not take every available opportunity for silence you can get, I dare you!”

Tsuna gaped at the scene. At least until Reborn jumped on his head. “Stop gaping like an idiot No-Good-Tsuna.” The Tenth was quick to comply.

One of Tsuna’s “Family”, however, was laughing his short toddler ass off. “HAHAHAHAHA! That was funny! Can he do it again?”

Tsuna wheeled on him in, well, not righteous anger, but still, it’s the thought that counts. “Lambo! You shouldn’t say things like that!”

Lambo turned away from Tsuna, smirking as he nonchalantly picked his nose. “Whatever.”

Gokudera took a menacing step toward the afro-clad child. “Listen to what the Tenth says you stupid cow!”

Lambo’s only response was to stick his tongue out at Gokudera and pull his eyelid down.

“Kufufufu.” The ominous laughter made Lambo and a few others freeze in fear. Slowly, nervously, the afro-bearing toddler turned around to gaze up at the figure behind him. He was tall and was wearing a dark leather ensemble. His indigo, spiky hair was vaguely reminiscent of a pineapple. His eyes were mismatched, with his left a normal blue, while his right had a bright red iris. He had a creepy grin on his face and an ornate trident propped up against his shoulder.

“You know...” His grin widened just a bit, going from creepy to slasher. “ _You’re rather annoying_.”

Forgetting the previous bravado he had been showing, Lambo shrieked and dashed to hide in his safe place… which actually appeared to be Gokudera’s face.

“GET THE HELL OFF OF ME YOU STUPID COW!”

“WAAAAH!”

Tsuna watched this with a scared expression on his face before whirling around to fact the tall teen. “Mukuro! Why did you do that!?”

Mukuro kept his grin firmly in place as he turned his mismatched gaze on Tsuna, who barely withheld what would have been a very visible flinch. “As I said, he was annoying.” He swept his eyes over the onlooking crowd, meeting several eyes. Some flinched away, others met him defiantly. His grin widened just a hint more. “My name is Mukuro Rokudo. A pleasure to meet you all.”

Behind him, a girl who was wearing a dark green school uniform stepped forward. She had an eye patch covering her right eye and was shaking slightly. “Um… I...” She stole a  glance at Mukuro when she thought he wasn’t looking before gulping heavily and continuing. “My name is Chrome Dokuro.” She gave a swift bow. “Nice to meet you.” And with that she stepped back again.

Tsuna looked at her with worry in his eyes before looking back at the crowd. “Er, so I think that’s everyone who’s with us...”

“Stupid little herbivore...”

Tsuna jumped forwards in surprise, screaming with shock. “HIIIIE!!! H-H-HIBARI!”

The other members of Tsuna’s Family quickly distanced themselves from the individual who had been standing behind Tsuna. He had dark hair that hung over his face but that did not obscure his eyes. He was wearing a jacket but kept his arms free of the sleeves.

Tsuna eyed the newcomer with obvious panic. “S-s-sorry Hibari, I d-di-”

“Quiet, Herbivore.”

Tsuna’s mouth shut with a click.

The intimidating individual repeated the action that Mukuro had performed, gazing over the crowd. But where Mukuro had locked glares with those who could manipulate and resist manipulation, and scared those who could be manipulated, Hibari stared down those who were strong in a primal sense, and unnerved those whose wills were of a weaker calibre.

Hibari grunted. “My name is Hibari Kyoya. Do not herd with each other, or else...” His glare’s predatory aspect intensified. “I will bite you all to death.”

Gajeel’s lips drew back in a snarl. “Who the hell are you-”

Tsuna jumped in front of the Dragon Slayer, arms waving vigorously. “Nononononono! PLEASE don’t get him angry! He’s not kidding, he will kill you!”

Gajeel turned his glare on the Mafioso heir. “And what will keep me from killing you, you little shit?”

In a blur of movement, two people interposed themselves between Gajeel and Tsuna. Gokudera was giving the pierced mage a look designed to kill while he grasped several sticks of dynamite in each hand. Yamamoto had a sword pointed between his eyes and  his face was in a complete reversal  of the previously laid back attitude he had before.

“Just try it you iron bastard,” Gokudera growled as he inched his dynamite towards the cigarette held between his teeth. Yamamoto’s eyes merely narrowed further.

“Will you idiots knock it off already?”

The three glaring men whipped their heads around to look at who had spoken. It was a kid. He was short only around four feet tall, with blond hair tied in a ponytail and golden eyes. He was wearing a red coat and had gloves on both his hands. “We’re trying to figure out this mess and get the hell out of here. Mind saving the pointless fighting for later?” he said in an exasperated tone.

Yamamoto blinked at the boy’s words, while Gokudera and Gajeel tensed.

The Iron Dragonslayer took a step towards him, “Why you little-!”

Gokudera also turned towards him, “Who the hell are-!”

But both were halted before they could cause any damage.

“Gokudera!” The shout from Tsuna froze the silver-haired boy in his tracks. “This isn’t the time for violence! Will you please stop already!?” This caused the pyrotechnist to hurriedly snap his bombs back to wherever he’d pulled them from and hastily bow while profusely apologizing.

On the other hand, Gajeel was stopped by a single hand touching his shoulder. Turning around, he levelled a glare at whoever had dared to interrupt him. His piercing red glare was met with a glacial blue one, belonging to none other than Juvia Lockser. They silently stared at each other for a moment before Gajeel finally huffed and faced forward again, but with the tension gone from his body.

Juvia sighed a breath of relief. Lucy hesitantly stepped next to her, looking forwards. “Wow Juvia, how did you pull that off?”

Juvia eyed Lucy, temporarily considering whether or not she should deny her ‘rival in love’ before dismissing the thoughts. “Back in Phantom, Gajeel’s temper was always a problem, so members of the Element Four were assigned to accompany him on his missions. We made sure that he wouldn’t offend clients or get arrested. Juvia simply decided to remind him that now is not a good time to start a fight.”

Juvia smirked, furtively glancing at Gray before submerging into her own fantasies. _‘And I was able to do something truly impressive! Now my darling Gray will admire me and surely fall in love with me!’_

Lucy sweatdropped as the blue-haired mage dissolved into giggles as she gazed dreamily at Gray. _‘Should have seen this coming...’_

Meanwhile, Gajeel had turned back to the blonde in the red coat. He looked him up and down before addressing him. “Hmph, you stopped a pointless fight. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, pipsqueak.”

It appeared as if everyone who was with the kid suddenly froze. Snickering and facepalms could be heard throughout the group.

The kid’s head was tilted down, his face covered by the shadow of his hairline. He twitched.

Then...

In a flash, a huge person wearing an incredible amount of armor scooped up the blond kid, gripping him from below his shoulders. Milliseconds later, the kid... _erupted_ for lack of a better term.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY THAT HE COULD GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH MICROBES AND POTENTIALLY CURE CANCER!?!”

Someone behind the struggling kid blinked in surprise. “You gotta give him credit, he’s creative if nothing else...”

Meanwhile, the person in the suit of armor was fighting ferociously to keep the incensed blond in check. From within the armor came a voice that sounded _far_ too young for someone of that size. “Brother! Please! He didn’t say anything even _remotely_ like that!”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER, I’M STILL GONNA RIP ALL HIS PIERCINGS OFF AND MAKE HIM EAT THEM!”

Gajeel grinned impishly. He leaned forward till he was face to face with the blond. “You’re too much of a kid to do that.”

The blond’s pupils contracted to pinpricks and he froze.

He twitched.

CHOMP!

“YEARGH!”

“BROTHER! LET GO OF HIS NOSE!”

In the end, it took several minutes of yelling, screaming, pulling, prying, hitting, choking, bargaining, apologizing and tickling to get the blond to let go of the Iron Dragon Slayers nose.

Not in that order either.

Once it was over, the two parties were left restrained by their respective groups, glaring furiously at each other.

Gajeel rubbed his bleeding nose. “Cocky li-!” He was cut off by Juvia’s elbow jabbing him in the side. He glanced at her before reevaluating his choice of words. “Was that seriously necessary?” he demanded.

The blonde huffed. “You called me short!”

“AND YOU THOUGHT BITING MY NOSE OFF WAS AN APPROPRIATE REACTION!?!”

The blonde blinked in honest confusion. “What, didn’t you?”

Gajeel was about to jump the kid when the person in armor holding the blonde spoke up timidly. “Um, brother?”

The blonde looked up at the person’s helmet. “Yeah Al?”

“I think that this time you might have gone a little too far. Maybe you should apologize”

“WHAT!? But Al-”

“ _Brother._ ”

The blonde growled before he sighed in defeat. “Fine...” He looked Gajeel in the eyes. “I’m sorry for trying to bite your nose off,” Ed groaned through his gritted teeth.

Gajeel grinned. “Damn right you-!” He received another jab to the stomach, this time from both Juvia _and_ Erza. “But-!” His protests were met by two very furious glares. He growled before resigning himself. “Fine. I’m sorry I called you a small pipsqueak…” ‘ _Which you totally still are._ ’

The blonde’s eye twitched. He opened his mouth to unleash a verbal barrage, but was halted by his brother. “Ed, please!”

Ed growled, but finally breathed a deep sigh. “Apology accepted.”

The person in armor let the blonde go. “There, see? Everything’s worked out. Oh! I almost forgot, we were supposed to be introducing ourselves. I’m Alphonse, Alphonse Elric, but everyone calls me Al.” he waved politely. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

The blonde brushed himself off before standing upright. “And I’m his big brother, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Just call me Ed”

Nami eyed Ed with disbelief. “Big brother?”

Ed’s eye twitched imperceptibly before he turned towards her with a predatory smile. “Why yes, big brother,” he stated with a false calmness. “I’m 16 and Alphonse is 15. Got a problem with that?”

Nami was about to respond but changed her answer when she saw Al hastily shaking his head and waving his arms behind Ed’s back. “Er, no, none at all!”

Ed smiled. “Good.”

“Um, I’ve got a question,” Naruto said raising his hand. “What’s with the armor?”

Ed and Al glanced at each other before hastily looking away. Ed was covered in cold sweat. “It’s a hobby,” they answered simultaneously. Everyone present who had any sense noticed the obvious lie, but decided that due to their discomfort it would be better not to pry.

A heavy set man with slicked-back blonde hair and a mustache and glasses stepped forward. “My name is Heinkel. This is Darius.” He gestured at another heavy-set man with black hair and mutton-chops. “Jerso.” This was a black man with dreadlocked black hair. “And Zampano.” A man with spiky blonde hair who was wearing glasses.

An old man with a mess of black hair and a horribly disfigured face stepped forward. “I’m Doctor Tim Marcoh.”

Behind him was a huge man. He had dark skin and white hair, and criss-crossing across his face was a scar shaped like an X. His eyes were obscured behind a dark pair of sunglasses. He glared at everyone present. “You may call me Scar.”

Kiba scoffed. “You really expect us to believe that’s your name?”

Scar pinned the ninja with his glare. “It’s the only one you’re getting,” he replied in a tone of voice filled with promised pain.

Hastily acting to interrupt any conflict, a short, very young girl hurriedly ran forward. She had black hair and a bundle slung across her back. She also had her hair done up in a pair of spiky buns with small braided stands trailing out. There was also a miniature panda riding on her shoulder.

“I’m May Chang, heiress to the Chang clan!” The panda on her shoulder jumped up and down. “And this is Xiao-Mei.”

A man in black clothing stepped forward. He had dark hair and a ponytail. His mouth was twisted in a vicious smirk. “The name’s Greed.”

A person wearing a mask and covered head to toe in dark clothing stepped forward menacingly. “Greed, this is your last warning. Let. Ling. Go.”

Greed turned around, his pompous smirk still present. “And this is the last time I repeat myself lady. You. And what. Army?”

The person growled but before she could respond, Ed put a hand on her shoulder. “Let it go, Lanfan.”

The person whipped around to stare at him. “But Edward-!”

Ed shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do. He’s still in there and he’s fighting, but beyond that, there’s not a lot we can do. Just take solace in the fact that he’s alive and leave it at that.”

Greed grinned. “You heard him, girl. Sit.”

The ninja, Lan Fan, tensed, but was stopped by an arm being thrown in front of her by another person dressed identically to her, but with a different design on the mask. She stared at the person in shock. “Grandfather!?”

The person was quiet as he stared at Greed, who simply raised his eyebrow. “What do you want, old man?”

The person was quiet before he asked in a flat voice. “The prince is truly alive?”

Greed blinked in surprise before sighing and scratching his head. “Yeah. He’s annoying, but he’s in there.”

The person nodded. “So long as the prince is alive, that is enough for me.”

“But Grandfather-!” Lan Fan protested.

“Calm down Lan Fan. What is required is patience. For now, Greed inhabits the prince’s body,” her grandfather reassured. He then leveled a glare at Greed through his mask. “When the time comes, we _will_ find a way to expel him from Ling’s body. Once and for all.”

Greed grinned viciously. “You’re welcome to try old man.”

“Hey!” Inuyasha shouted out. “Mind telling us what the hell is going on here?”

Ed sighed, tired at having to play the sane man of his group. He’d have let Alphonse handle it, but at the end of the day he wasn’t mature enough to handle this. He began by gesturing at Greed. “Greed isn’t the only person in this body. Long story short, he’s an alternate personality who took over. Ling’s still alive, but he’s shoved deep into his own mind.” He then gestured at the two ninja-esque people. “These are Old Man Fu and Lan Fan. They’re Ling’s bodyguards.”

Fu twitched. “‘Old Man’?”

Ed looked at him flatly. “Well, we already have one Fuu over there,” he said gesturing at the dark-skinned girl. “Would you rather we confuse you two?”

Fu stared at him angrily before sighing ruefully. “Very well.”

“So, why exactly does this guy need a pair of bodyguards anyways?” Naruto asked.

“The guards said it themselves. Ling is a prince,” the Straw Hats’ archaeologist, Robin, stated. Nami looked at her before smirking. It had been awhile since she’d seen it, but she recognized the look in her eyes: a look of intelligence, a look that preceded Robin connecting a great amount of  information . “And not only that, he’s the prince to the same country and throne as May.” May’s face blanched and her jaw dropped.

Lenalee blinked. “Wait, didn’t she say that she was an heiress?”

“Indeed, but her clothes and features indicate that she and Ling are from the same country, and both are of royal blood. If I had to guess, I would say that they are from rival clans due to how she seems to distance herself from Greed and Ling’s bodyguards. Both of them must be vying for the same throne, which has either been recently vacated or is about to be.”

Everyone stared in awe at the dark-haired pirate. May was gaping at how her and Ling’s entire past had been effectively picked apart in minutes by a woman who until a few seconds ago hadn’t even known their names. “H-how...!?”

Robin smiled at the dumbstruck heiress. “Oh, did I not mention? I’m an archaeologist.”

Ed shook himself out of his stupor, deciding to get back on track. “Well, anyways, moving on. Mustang, you’re up.”

A dark-haired man in a blue uniform wearing gloves grumbled. “That’s _Colonel_ Mustang to you, Fullmetal.”

“Wait, you’re in the military?” Lucy asked in surprise.

Mustang nodded. “Roy Mustang, State Alchemist in the Amestrian Military. I’m known as the Flame Alchemist.”

Maka furrowed her brow in thought. ‘ _Wait a second… his title is the Flame Alchemist,_ ’ She looked at Ed who was glaring at the Colonel. ‘ _And he said that he’s called the Fullmetal Alchemist._ ’Her eyes shot wide open in realization. ‘ _That must mean-!_ ’

“Ed’s in the military!?” Maka exclaimed in surprise.

Most people present looked at Ed in shock and surprise. The shinobi were the only ones who didn’t seem that surprised.

Ed scowled at the attention. “Yeah, I’m in the military, what about it?”

Maka stuttered in shock. “Wh-what about it!? You’re 16! How, _why_ are you in the military!?”

Ed grit his teeth in annoyance. “I’m a State Alchemist, I had the skills so they let me in.” He raised his hands when she opened her mouth. “Look, it’s not that big of a deal, I’ve been in the military since I was 12!”

_That_ was a mistake. Even the shinobi reacted this time at the shocking revelation, albeit not nearly to the extent of the rest.

Maka gaped at him for a few moments before rounding on the Colonel. “What the hell is _wrong_ with you people!?!”

Mustang was about to defend himself when somebody placed himself in front of him. She was a blond lady with her hair tightly pulled back and sharp eyes. She was wearing the same uniform as the Colonel. “Colonel Mustang did not force Edward into the military. He merely presented Edward with the offer to join. Edward decided to try out of his own volition.”

Maka was about to speak more when Ed finally lost his temper. “ALRIGHT, EVERYONE SHUT UP! Look, the decision was my own and this is _not_ the time or place to talk about it! Can we just shut up and move along!?!”

Slowly, everyone present calmed down and allowed things to continue. “There, that’s better.” He threw an appreciative look at the woman. “Thanks, Hawkeye.”

Riza smiled  back. “No problem, Edward.”

The person behind the Colonel cleared his throat. He was tall, gargantuan even! He had an extremely muscular physique and blond hair that was solely present in his small moustache and a small bit present on his bald head. Looking at his soul, Maka’s eyes widened as she slowly snuck behind Tsubaki’s back.

“Hello! I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong!” To the shock, awe, and more importantly, _horror_ of everyone present, he ripped his shirt off, exposing his bulging muscles, which he began to flex. It was horrible, it was terrifying, it  - _were those sparkles_!?“Behold! The great traditional greeting, passed down the Armstrong line for generations!”

Maka grabbed Tsubaki’s arms when they whipped to her kunai pouch. The tall girl cast an appreciative glance over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

Maka’s eye twitched as the sparkles continued to shine. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m already regretting this.”

A short distance away, something similar was transpiring. “Neji, let me go!”

“No.”

“C’mon, you have to!”

“No, Tenten.”

“But what if Lee wakes up!? Do you want to see what would happen if he combines the Sunset Jutsu with, with, _THAT!?!”_

“...that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“OH COME ON!”

Armstrong continued to flex his muscles in front of a crowd that was becoming less and less repulsed and more and more bloodthirsty. However, before anybody could act, Major Armstrong was halted by a sword being pointed at his face. It wasn’t the sword that scared him though. He was _far_ more terrified by the person holding the sword.

“O-olivier!”

“That’s General Armstrong to you, you worthless embarrassment,” the General growled. She was an imposing woman, wearing the same blue uniform as the other soldiers present, save that hers had a white fur lining. She had long blonde hair, a strand of which fell in front  of her face, and large, full lips. “Put your clothes back on before I decide that you’re no longer worth the trouble.”

Many people present had seen people who could devest themselves in ludicrous amounts of time, but none had seen another human being put his clothes back on as fast as Major Armstrong did that day.

Ed suppressed a shiver of fear and revulsion. “Well, that’s everyone here with us.”

“Actually, there’s still me Ed.”

Ed and Al froze upon hearing the voice. Slowly, painstakingly, they turned around, fearing that they had indeed recognized who had spoken. Upon seeing her, Ed’s jaw dropped open.

“WINRY!?!”

She was a blond, with long hair stretching down to the middle of her back. She was wearing a white t-shirt and denim jeans.

“I- but- _how!?!_ ”

“How do you think? I got the letter.”

“ _And you followed it!?_ What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Ed-!”

“Winry, why on earth would you-!”

“BECAUSE IT SAID I COULD HELP YOU!”

Ed stopped in shock. Winry huffed angrily. “The letter… it said that if I went, I’d be able to help you in the future. So… I went.”

Ed stared at her wordlessly before he looked away. “...we’ll talk about this later.” He looked at everyone present. “Anyways, unless there are any other surprises, that is _literally_ everyone with us, the end.”

“Then I guess that we’re next then,” the tall, orange-haired boy said.

As everyone turned and moved to look at the boys group, Ed was tapped on the shoulder. When he looked over his shoulder, he scowled at the fact that it was Maka. When he opened his mouth, Maka held up her hand. “Look, I’m sorry about that scene earlier, but this is more important. I realize this is personal, but I have to say it anyways: There’s nobody in your brother’s armor, only a soul.”

Ed bristled. “How the hell-” he whispered, but was cut off by Maka.

“I can see souls. And I can tell that your brother’s soul is tied to the armor.”

Ed stared at her before he scoffed silently. “Souls… you know, I consider myself a man of science.” Maka almost made a snide comment on Ed’s height, but caught herself before she uttered even a single grunt. “ I don’t believe in God, haven’t for awhile now, but somehow souls exist and are actually a crucial part of my science. Crazy huh?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Maka and Ed whipped around to see Allen standing nearby. “Sorry, couldn’t help but overhear, and don’t worry!” he said when Ed was about to speak, “I won’t tell anyone, after all,” He held up his left arm and undid his glove slightly, showing a small piece of the emaciated flesh beneath to the shock of the two. “We all have our secrets.”

Ed stared for a bit before he got back on track. “You were talking about souls and science.”

Allen shrugged. “Well, first, do you really think that your science disproves God?”

Ed looked at him. He thought back.

_Pain. So much pain, so much knowledge being poured into his head,_

_More pain, his leg, why couldn’t he feel his leg?!_

_A noise, moaning, he looks, and something looks back._

Ed shuddered. “I’ve seen things. Horrible things. Whether alchemy disproves that God exists or not is irrelevant. Even if God exists, there’s nothing that can justify him letting all of it happen.”

Allen looked at him in silence. “I’ve seen terrible things too. Things that would make other men scream and run. But those things have only strengthened my faith. After all, if God doesn’t exist,” Allen gripped the Rose Cross on his uniform. “Then what is it all for?”

Maka glanced between the two of them before she sighed. “I might be a bit jaded by my experiences with divinity, but in the end I think that there’s one thing the three of us can agree on; whether or not God exists doesn’t matter, we just have to keep on living, right?”

Ed nodded. “Yeah.”

Allen smiled. “Agreed.” He looked at Ed before smiling. “Maybe we should reintroduce ourselves,” He extended his right hand. “Allen Walker.”

Ed grinned and took it. “Edward Elric.”

Maka placed her hand on both. “Maka Albarn.”

The three exchanged grins and then turned around to continue watching the introductions going on.

“I’m Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki,” the tall-haired boy with the cleaver strapped to his back said neutrally. Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at the group behind him before looking at everyone again. “Listen, this is going to sound really stupid, but I just have to make sure of this: You can see the guys wearing the black uniforms, right?”

Murmurs of confusion arose before Soul finally asked the question on people’s mind. “You mean the same uniform you’re wearing?”

Ichigo eyed him warily. “Yes?”

“Then yeah, we can see them. Is that a problem?”

Ichigo sighed exasperatedly. “No. In a way it makes things easier… though at the same time all that much more complicated.”

A teenage girl with long orange hair and a kind, if slightly clueless, face smiled and tilted her head as she waved. “I’m Orihime Inoue. Nice to meet you all!”

Towering over most of the people present was a dark-skinned teen whose dark hair curtained over his eyes. “My name is Sado Yasutora. But most people call me Chad,” he said in a deep voice.

Next to him was a teenager who was wearing a white uniform. His black hair was tightly pulled back and he was wearing a pair of glasses. The boy reached up and pushed his glasses up his nose as he examined everyone with his intelligent gaze. “Uryuu Ishida,” he stated simply.

One of the people wearing the black uniforms took a step forward. She was very petite, and her hands firmly at her side. Her deep purple eyes were set, stern but not unkind, and her black hair was slicked down, a single strand tickling her nose. “My name is Rukia Kuchiki, a pleasure to meet you.”

A red headed man of tall height crossed his arms. His eyebrows were furrowed, but nonetheless he was smiling a cocky smile. “Hi, I’m Renji Abarai, Vice Captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13.”

Rukia noticed how Maka’s eye twitched. “Before anybody says anything, everybody except Ichigo in this uniform is a _lot_ older than they look! Plus, it’s not exactly a normal military.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Understatement,” he muttered. His eyes then shot wide. “OW!” he yelled as he hopped around on the foot that hadn’t just been crunched by the midget.

Rukia huffed. “Anyways, we’re getting off track. Who’s next?”

A man with feathers attached to his right eye all but strutted forwards. He dramatically swept his hand in front of him as he bowed forward. “Yumichika Ayasegawa. A pleasure, I’m certain.”

Another guy who was bald and had a vicious look in his eyes smirked. “ The name’s Ikkaku Madarame, Third Seat Officer of the Eleventh Division.”

A tall woman with long, messy strawberry blonde hair and a rather… prominent chest smiled sunnily. “Hi, I’m Rangiku Matsumoto. I’m the Vice Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13. My interests are napping and getting hammered!”

Anko appeared next to her and returned the smile. “What a coincidence, those are my interests as well!”

Rangiku gasped dramatically “That is so amazing!” Her smile turned mischievous. “Wanna hit the town once we get outta here?”

“Will there be dango?”

“There will be dango.”

“Then yes!”

The last member of the group, a short kid with spiky white hair, wearing a white coat over his uniform slammed his face into the palm of his hand as he sighed. “Dear lord, now there’s two of them.”

Rangiku threw Anko a smirk and then engulfed the kid in a hug and buried his head in her chest. “I know! Isn’t it incredible, Captain?”

Kakashi blinked. “I’m sorry, but Captain?”

The kid finally managed to struggle out of his Vice Captain’s grasp. “Yes, Captain. I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13, a title that I earned, thank you very much.”

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. “Well, that’s all of us.” He glanced over towards Negi and his class. “Guess that just leaves you kid.”

Negi nodded. “Right then, my name is Negi Springfield. These girls are my students.”

Natsu cocked his head. “Let me guess, you’re older than you look, right?”

Negi sweatdropped. “Er...no, I’m eleven.”

There were a lot of incredulous looks. Negi got nervous and began shaking his hands quickly. “Err, before anybody gets the wrong idea, I’m their English teacher! Nothing more!”

Erza crossed her arms. “A child teacher who knows how to use powerful Wind Magic casually.”

Negi winced. “You picked up on that, huh?” He sighed. “Fine, I’m also a mage. I graduated from the Meridiana Magic Academy when I was ten. I was then assigned to be the English teacher for Class 2-A, now 3-A, at the Mahora Girl’s Academy.”

A tall girl with blue and green eyes and red hair that was done up in pigtails and tied up with bells clamped a hand on Negi’s shoulder. “I’m Asuna Kagurazaka. Negi’s been bunking with me and Konoka. I’ve been keeping an eye on the brat.” Asuna’s eye twitched as her hand tightened uncomfortably on Negi. “Or at least as much as I can. This little brat attracts trouble like a corpse draws flies.”

Kiba scoffed. “How much trouble could a kid like him be?”

Asuna’s eye twitched again and Negi winced as her hand nearly broke his arm off. “During Mahora’s Summer Festival, his descendant from the future invaded Mahora with an army of robots in an attempt to fix the broken future she came from.”

Everyone gaped at Negi and his class openly.

“And that’s the short version!”

Fuu recovered first and grinned widely before raising her hand. “Where can I enroll for this place?”

A girl with long, straight black hair and a kind face waved her arms frantically. “No no no, you’re getting the wrong idea! Mahora is _safe!_ Plus, no one was hurt when Chao attacked, people actually had a lot of fun!”

Liz blinked. “Umm, I’m no expert, but how exactly is an invasion of robots _fun?”_

The girl made to answer but was interrupted when another girl who had the left half of her hair done up in a ponytail while her right was left loose. She also had a sword sheathed across her back. “Chao’s robots used non-lethal weaponry, so we were able to disguise the invasion as an event in the Festival. We armed the Festival-goers with magical weaponry and let them and the army have at it. Whoever destroyed the most robots won.” The girl then stood up straight and bowed  forward. “My name is Setsuna Sakurazaki, this is Lady Konoe.”

‘Lady Konoe’ huffed. “Setsuna! I already told you, call me Konoka!”

“My apologies Lady Ko- I mean, Konoka!”

Greed smirked. “Bodyguards, am I right?”

Konoka sighed. “Don’t I know it...”

“Konoka!”

Behind them, a girl with orange hair and glasses sighed in exasperation as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Idiots, I’m surrounded by idiots.”

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. “And you would be?”

The girl met his mismatched gaze in a bored manner. “Annoyed, tired, and frankly pissed off, but my name is Chisame Hasegawa. I’m the only sane person in this entire insane group.”

A hand fell on Chisame’s shoulder. She looked up tiredly at the owner of said hand. She was tall, had long green hair, and had a pair of what could best be described as long, white mechanical ears coming off the side of her head.

“It is quite alright. It is logistically improbable for you to be the sole sane individual within our party. For example, myself, master, and Negi are quite lucid, at least as much as yourself.”

Chisame’s gaze turned venomous. “So your way of reassuring me is by telling me is that I’m just as sane as some of the looniest people here?”

“Indeed.”

Chisame rubbed her eyes. “Thank you for that, Chachamaru. Thank you for that _so_ much.”

“You’re very welcome Chisame.” The girl turned towards the crowd. “I am Chachamaru Karakuri. I am a magically fueled gynoid.” This caused a mass reaction from the more intelligent people present.

Naruto blinked. “Um… what’s a guy-noid?”

“N-Naruto… a gynoid… a gynoid is a female android. A humanoid robot!” Sakura exclaimed dumbfounded.

Chachamaru nodded. “Indeed.” Chachamaru tilted her head. “I am curious. Based upon your clothing and the items you carry, your civilization from wherever you come from seems to be less advanced than our own. How did you recognize what I was?”

Sakura blinked. “Er… yeah, we don’t have androids or such, but we do have science fiction, so...”

Chachamaru nodded. “Very well. I should also introduce to you all my master.” She gestured next to her, to a short, blond girl. “Allow me to introduce my master, Evangeline A.K. McDowell.”

Evangeline smiled viciously, exposing a pair of very, _very_ sharp fangs. “Nice to meet you all. Or at least, that’s what I’d say if I had that much of an interest in any of you at all.”

Erza narrowed her eyes. “And what exactly gives you the right to be so condescending?”

Evangeline smirked more. “The fact that I’m several hundred years old, have an extensive arsenal of black magic, and am one of the most wanted individuals in my world?” Evangeline looked up as she nodded her head left and right, seeming to be thinking thoroughly. “Yes, I believe I’ve earned the right to act like I’m better than all of you because, oh, I dunno, _I am?_ ”

A lot of the people present tensed on hearing Evangeline’s shortened rap sheet, but Negi hurriedly waved his hands, drawing their attention. “Wait wait wait wait, Evangeline might have been bad in the past, but she’s better now! She’s taught me how to fight, she’s been a big help,” Negi gained a determined look, shocking more than a few people present. “And more importantly, she’s my student. If any of you try to harm any of my students for _any_  reason whatsoever, I will _personally_ demonstrate every last lesson that Evangeline has taught me. Is. That. _Clear?_ ”

Negi swept his gaze over the suddenly subdued crowd before returning to his previously relaxed demeanor. “Alright then!” He turned towards the individual behind him. “So girls, who’s next?”

“U-um, I guess m-me, Negi.”

This stuttering introduction was delivered by a petite girl whose violet hair fell down to cover her eyes. Flanking her on her left was another short girl with long, braided blue hair who had a bored expression on her face and was sucking on her juice box. On her right was a tall girl with long dark green hair and two strands poking into antennae. She had glasses and a wild smirk on her face,

“I-I’m Nodoka Miyazaki,” the purple-haired girl said.

“I’m Yue Ayase,” the blue-haired girl, in a deadpan voice, stated.

“And I’m Haruna Saotome! Nice to meetcha!” the green haired girl shouted boisterously.

“Heh, me next!” This proclamation was given by the only other boy in the group. He was as tall as Negi, had a mop of dark hair, and most shockingly, had a pair of dog ears poking out of said hair, as well as some fangs. “The name’s-ERK!”

The dog-like boy was cut off suddenly when he was tripped by a tall girl with light brown hair and a very laid-back expression on her face. Her eyes were closed like that of an archaic smiling fox, but her hair and its colour did not synergise with that image. It was brown, and was mostly cut into a three-tailed hairdo. Two framing her face and reaching her bust, and another going from the nape of her neck down to her shins.

She smiled down teasingly at the glaring boy. “Sorry about that Kotarou, I just thought it would be best if you don’t say anything unfortunate, de gozaru.” She looked back towards everyone. “I’m Kaede Nagase, and this is Kotarou Inugami. A pleasure to meet you all, de gozaru.”

Kotarou got up grumbling. “Stupid ninja, one of these days I’m gonna-URK!” He was cut off when his feet were swept out from beneath him again. Kaede just looked ahead humming pleasantly.

“Oh, oh, me next!” This vigorous introduction was given by a dark-skinned girl who had blond hair done up in a pair of messy ponytails. She was dressed in a cheongsam with slits on each side, exposing her legs. “I’m Ku Fei, aru! Nice to meet you all, aru!”

“Well, my turn,” a tall girl with bright red hair done up in a messy ponytail spoke up next. Shockingly, floating behind her was a semi-transparent girl with white hair, red eyes. The floating girl was dressed in an old Japanese school girls uniform.

“I’m Kazumi Asakura, reporter extraordinaire!” the red-haired girl said as she flashed her camera. The floating girl hid behind the reporter, looking at the people warily.

“Um, Kazumi? I-I don’t like the way everybody is looking over here. It’s like they can see me...” she said shyly.

“Actually, that’s because we _can_ see you,” Orihime said pleasantly. She blinked in surprise when Class 3-A reacted with varying degrees of shock. “Um… were we not supposed to?”

Kazumi gaped openly. “You-you can seriously see her?”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Didn’t we already say that?”

Kikyo hummed idly. “It is not surprising that they expected her to be unseen. She appears to be a spirit.”

The girl slowly came out from behind Kazumi, poking her fingers. “Y-yes, that’s right, I’m a ghost. My name is Sayo, Sayo Aisaka.” She waved shyly. “Hello.”

Unseen to most of the people present, the members of the Gotei 13 - the ones with  more than a single brain cell anyway - were whispering amongst each other fervently. Finally, Rukia composed herself and stepped forwards. Catching Sayo’s attention, Rukia acted as calmly as she could as she asked her a question. “Excuse me, Sayo? Pardon me if this appears uncouth but… how long have you been… deceased?”

Sayo twitched imperceptibly. “Er...”

Kazumi stepped in front of her instantly. “HEY! Watch it, do you have any idea what you’re asking!?!”

Rukia stepped back. “Sorry, sorry! I’ll just-!”

“Eighty.”

Rukia blinked. “I-I’m sorry.”

Sayo’s eyes were shadowed by her hair. “I died eighty eight years ago. I’ve stayed in Mahora ever since.”

Behind Rukia, Captain Hitsugaya appeared to choke on his own saliva incredulously. When Ichigo questioned him, he dragged him down and began whispering fiercely with him, all the while staring discretely at Sayo.

Rukia gulped imperceptibly. “I-I see. I’m sorry for digging up bad memories.”

Sayo swallowed before smiling. “It’s alright.”

Rukia stepped back and joined in the conversation, followed by a vigorously thinking Uryuu and a confused Orihime.

Negi scanned who was behind him to see who was left behind. “Let’s see, I believe that that leaves… Mana? Zazie? Is that you?”

The last two students were both dark-skinned. The former, Mana, was distinctly taller. She had long dark hair, with her face framed by two frames. Slung across her back was a very large sniper rifle. The other, Zazie, was shorter. She had light gray hair. She also had a pair of markings on her face. Below her left eye was a red teardrop mark and a red line down across her right eye.

Both had bored expressions on their faces, but where Mana was looking around and lazily examining everybody, Zazie looked genuinely bored with what was going on.

Mana looked at Negi. “Yes, it’s us. We received the letter and decided to investigate. We showed up just as the light did.”

Zazie shrugged. “Thought it would be interesting. Wasn’t disappointed.”

Negi’s eye twitched before he sighed. “Well, I supposed that’s that. Everyone present and accounted for.”

A chorus of agreements arose from everybody present. However, when the noise died down, a single person coughed, drawing everyone’s attention.

There was a tanned man with a white hooded kimono with a red rim. The hood shadowed the upper part of his face. “Greetings. My name is Shinji Takuma.”

A smile played across the man’s face.

“I am the reason you are all here.”

When everybody’s face properly registered their shock, he clapped his hands together.

“Now then! Let’s get to work...”

**To be continued...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N.
> 
> DONE! Jeeze that was looooong! I’m sorry that took so long to write, but jeeze, writer’s block plus this being one of the more boring parts equals really long time to write! Anyways, that parts done, maybe now I’ll be able to write faster...anyways! For those who don’t know, Shinji Takuma is the OC from my Editor HTM’s fanfic, “Tales Of A Dimensional Travelling Gutsy Ninja”. I assure you, this fanfic crossover is not frivolous, it is in fact intrinsic with the plot. Still though, either way, thanks for reading this far, tell your friends about my story, and good night!
> 
> Editor’s note: I wanted Shinji to be female, but because the other author insisted otherwise… there you go! THANK YOU FOR NOT BEING ACCOMMODATING TO MY SELFISHNESS, XOMNIAC!... wait, that’s a good thing.
> 
> And for those confused about my wish to make Shinji female, there is a simple answer to that. I’m a trans woman, so it would make sense to make him “her”, since he’s a representation of who I am/was before I came out. :3


	4. Right Questions, Mysterious Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**-0-**

**Location: Unknown**

 

‘ _Last time, on Chronicles from the Order of Stars. A mysterious man appears, telling them all that he is the reason for the mystery of the… uh…_ ’

 

“Hey, will you answer us already?! Who the hell are you?!”

 

‘ _Looks like this isn’t the time to be breaking the fourth wall after all. On to business it is._ ’

 

The mysterious man smiled. “Sorry about that, I was… let’s just say I was lost in thought and leave it at that, yes?”

 

Naruto scowled. “How about no! You just appear here and tell us that you kidnapped us and stuck us wherever the hell we are! We want answers, damn it!” The others agreed, either loudly, with their fists shaking and vocal cords vibrating, or silently, their eyes glaring resolutely at the mysterious person. Or in some cases, just staring.

 

The man shrugged. “You want, you want… you’re so selfish. How about me, huh? I mean, seriously, I didn’t even intend to hurt anyone, emotionally or physically! But then you go and tell me I kidnapped you all. So hurtful.”

 

Ed’s glare intensified tenfold. “Didn’t intend to hurt us? Those letters you sent paint a very different picture. If any of the others contained anything that was even a fraction of what mine was...”

 

The man tilted his head. “Ah, but that’s the thing. I _didn’t_ write those letters. Why, I didn’t even send them.”

 

The majority of the people present froze. Allen quickly got his jaw working again. “What did you say?”

 

Shinji shrugged again. “You heard me. I didn’t send them. Granted, I already knew what was inside of them, yes, but I never wrote them. Or even initially send them.”

 

Negi quickly processed this before he latched onto a specific part of Shinji’s statement. “What do you mean, ‘initially’?”

Shinji’s smile could be seen beneath his hood. “Smart kid. Okay, here’s the truth. Somebody else sent eleven letters out, destined for eleven people here. I intercepted those letters and proceeded to... multiply them, shifting the contents of said letters so that they would all be prepared for whoever opened them. After which, I sent them all off to everyone else present. Simple enough.”

 

Maka bit her lip. “And… who was supposed to get those first letters?”

 

Shinji tapped his chin. “Hmm… well let’s see...” Shinji lifted a finger and pointed first...

 

...at Maka, “You.”

 

Then Soul, “You.”

 

Allen, “You.”

 

Luffy, “You.”

 

Inuyasha, “You.”

 

Natsu, “You.”

 

Naruto, “You.”

 

Tsuna, “You.”

 

Ed, “You.”

 

Ichigo, “You.”

 

Negi, “And you.”

 

Everyone chosen gaped, unable to believe it. Questions flew through their minds at varying paces. Finally, Tsuna garnered the courage to ask something else. “B-but, you still made the other letters! Y-you sent them out to our friends! W-why? And why did those guys, the Order, why did this ‘Order’ send us the letters at all? Just… what is going on?!”

 

Shinji cupped his chin. “Those are some very good questions, all very spot on. Precisely the right questions to ask,” _‘Title drop!’_ “But I’m afraid that right now, I can’t very well answer them.”

 

With the shock worn off, most everyone reacted rather violently.

 

“WHY THE HELL NOT?!” Inuyasha roared.

 

When the shouting died down, Shinji slowly raised a finger to his ear and began moving it around inside. “Ok, first off, loud! Seriously, be more careful, you could take out a person’s hearing like that! And second… well, the truth of the matter is, right now simply isn’t the right time. Believe me though, I actually have your best interests at heart.”

 

Ichigo scowled. “And why exactly should we trust you?”

 

“Here’s an even better question.” Shinji stared boredly at the blade of pure magical energy being pointed at his face by a blonde vampire. “What exactly is stopping me from convincing you to relinquish those answers, in spite of whatever plans you previously had?”

 

Negi reeled back in shock. “E-Evangeline?! What, why are you-?”

 

“Shut it boya,” Evangeline snapped without turning around. She intensified her glare on the mysterious man in front of him. “Whoever this person is, he knows critical information and is honestly annoying me. If we want to get anywhere, I vote we make him tell us.” Some of the more logical and less scrupulous people nodded, understanding her reasoning.

 

Shinji crossed his arms and nodded as much as possible with his current range of movement. “Yes, yes, a very good point, _but_!” Shinji snapped a finger up. “There’s one flaw.”

 

Evangeline scowled, moving her blade forward until it was a mere millimeter above his skin. “And that would be?”

 

Shinji smiled as he poked the small of her back. “Boo.”

 

Evangeline whipped around, slicing through Shinji’s arm and chest in a moment. Simultaneously, three arrows sprouted from Shinji’s head and a pair of large handcuffs entrapped his torso before drastically shrinking and bisecting him cleanly.

 

There was a second of silence before there was a roar of noise.

 

“EVANGELINE!”

 

“KIKYO!”

 

“H-HIBARI!”

 

Everyone stared agape at the slaughterers of their apparent kidnapper. Asuna finally got her jaw mobilized again. “WHAT THE HELL, EVANGELINE!?!”

 

The daywalker scowled as she breathed heavily, staring down at the mutilated remains. Hearing the redheads exclamation, she pinned her with a glare. “Don’t give me that crap, you damn monkey. What he just did...” She shuddered violently. She looked at Kikyo. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

 

Kagome turned to look at Kikyo, and before she could ask a question, she stopped and stared. The priestess she had come to somewhat know was always stoic, strong, bearing an emotionless, impregnable facade. Now, she barely saw that.

 

Kikyo was shivering. Just barely, almost not there, but she was. There was sweat upon her forehead, and the knuckles clenching her bow were white. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, calming herself.

 

Finally, she spoke. “Over the many years I was a priestess, I faced many demons, with many abilities. What that… _person_ did... he simply ceased to exist, exist at all, and then began to exist again where he chose. The level of sheer _power_ necessary to accomplish that... I doubt even the whole Shikon Jewel could match such incredible power.”

 

Everyone stared. None of them knew the priestess, some of them doubted the existence of the demons she spoke of, and absolutely none of them knew what the Shikon Jewel she spoke of was, but one thing was obvious: Kikyo was experienced, and Shinji Takuma’s sole action managed to ensure his death.

 

Tsuna gulped before looking at Hibari. “I-is that why you d-did that too Hibari?”

 

The prefect scowled. “No.”

 

Tsuna blinked. “B-but the-?”

 

“He was a predator.”  
  
Tsuna cut himself off, blinking. “Wha-?”

 

Hibari froze him with a single malicious glare. “He was an apex predator, top of the foodchain. Predator or herbivore, it doesn’t matter. He could have bitten us all to death. Easily.”

 

Everyone turned that statement over, stewing silently. Finally, Natsu spoke up. “So... what do we do now?”

 

“Now you listen to me.”

 

Everyone cried out in alarm. Standing there, with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on the visible portion of his face, healthy as he had been mere moments ago, was Shinji Takuma.

 

“B-but how!?”

 

“Impossible!”

 

Captain Hitsugaya got over his shock the quickest, a thought running through his head. ‘ _The remains!_ ’ Glancing over to where they once were confirmed his thoughts. Where once there had been a mutilated pile of flesh lay absolutely nothing. Even the blood spatters on Evangeline had vanished. He scowled before wheeling on the robed man. “An illusion,” he growled.

 

Shinji smirked. “A fine assumption Captain, but no dice. I’m afraid that this trick puts Aizen’s to shame. You see, my body did just die right now, I just decided to... stop being dead.”

 

Chopper paled. “W-wait a second. Are y-you telling us that you’re a G-g-g-!?”

 

“A God? Another nice assumption doctor, much closer, but still off by a fair margin.”

 

Kakashi took a small step forward. “Then who, or what, are you? You’re obviously not human. You say you’re not a god. What are you?”

 

Shinji smiled. “I’m Shinji Takuma, resident supernatural kidnapper. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

 

Kakashi crossed his arms, unafraid of anything Shinji might throw at him. If Shinji wanted him dead, either he would already have been killed, or he would have been able to fight back. He hoped.

 

“So then Shinji, mind telling us why you chose to bring us all here?”

 

Shinji tapped his chin. “Now see, that statement is slightly false. While I _did_ bring most of you here, it appears that we have some stowaways as well. Honestly though, it’s a good thing they did come, I can’t believe I forgot to invite them!”

 

Reborn cocked an eyebrow. “And where would these ‘stowaways’ be exactly?”

 

Shinji smiled. “Right here of course!” And with that, he held out his two hands, into which appeared two small figures. The one in his left was a stuffed lion that was snoring and had a snot-bubble, mumbling in his sleep about his ‘sister’. The second was a long, slender, white-furred animal, who was pointing a digital camera straight up and snapping pictures while giggling to himself. A lecherous grin was somehow visible upon him.

 

“Ooh Rukia… mmm, Rangiku… Orihi~m~e...”

 

“Hehehehe, I love skirts!”

 

There was a moment of silence before the two creatures reacted. The stuffed animal woke up and the white thing stopped taking pictures.

 

“Zzz... hm? What the-?! This ain’t the beach! Where am I?”

 

“Hey, what’s goin’ on, what happened to the beautiful view?”

 

When they looked up and down respectively, they met the murderous glares of their friends.

 

Ichigo growled while Rukia ground her teeth. “Kon!”

 

Negi sighed while Asuna cracked her knuckles. “Oh Chamo...”

 

The two glanced at each other, simultaneously voicing their thoughts.

 

“Oh crap.”

 

Shinji smiled wider. “Have at them!” And with that he tossed them to their fates.

 

It was over in five minutes. But those five minutes were filled with the most horrifying, excruciating pain those poor, brave, courageous… who the hell are we kidding? They deserved every second of it! Anyways, moving on.

 

Asuna absentmindedly flicked some ermine blood off her sleeve. “Allow me to introduce

Chamo. Rat, pervert, and all-around disgrace.”

 

Rukia dusted her hands off as she stood over the mutilated body of the Mod-Soul. “And this is Kon, our resident annoyance and pain in the ass.”

 

Ichigo picked up Kon by his neck and glared at him. “Who’s supposed to be watching over my body. Mind telling me what you’re doing here instead!?”

 

Despite not having any lungs, or other organs except cotton for that matter, Kon choked as he tried to speak. “I-I heard y- _urk-_ you guys going and wanted to check it out t- _urgh-_ too! I left Ririn in yo- _ack-_ your body!”

 

Shinji shrugged. “Well, now that that’s taken care of...”

 

Inuyasha fixed him with a glare. “Any other passengers you forgot to mention?”

 

Shinji was opened his mouth to say no when he stopped and snapped his fingers. “Actually, now that you mention it, yes!” He held his hand out, facing down, and in it appeared a peculiar thing whose head he was gripping.

 

It was a puppet, obviously. The joints could easily be seen, and it was only about a foot tall. She looked a lot like Chachamaru, but the major difference was that her face had a lot less features, set in an unchanging smile. Also, she was holding a butcher’s knife above her head that was as long as she was tall.

 

A knife she brought down violently the next second.

 

“Hahahahaha! Yay! Who’s next, who’s...” She trailed off when she noticed the lack of spraying bodily fluids. “Next?” Then she noticed her change of position, causing her to struggle. “Hey, let me go already! I just wanna have some fun!”

 

Most everybody nearby jerked back from the psychotic puppet.

 

“What the hell is _that!?”_ Nami demanded.

 

“Yes Evangeline,” Negi said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Why don’t you explain who she is, and _why_  on earth you decided to bring her with us.” He finished giving Evangeline the evil eye.

 

The Maga Nosferatu simply rolled her eyes at the look. “Oh calm down boyo, I just thought I’d take her out as a little bit of insurance is all. You can never be too careful.” She walked up to Shinji and looked the puppet in the eye. “Still though, Chachazero, how are you walking? I’m not the one supplying you with energy.”

 

Chachazero stopped her squirming and beamed at Evangeline. “Hi Master! Haven’t you noticed? There’s a lot of ambient magical energy, so I just thought that I’d go for a little walk and have some fun!”

 

Tsubaki spluttered. “Wha- _fun!?_ You tried to cut somebody’s head in half!”

 

Chachazero’s grin widened and she nodded as much as she could. “Yeah, as I said, fun!”

 

Evangeline shook her head. “Forget it. Her brain’s addled by dark magic, there’s no reasoning with her.” She held a hand out to Shinji. “Mind giving her back? I’ll keep her under wraps for now.”

 

He tossed the doll to her. “She’s all yours.”

 

Evangeline caught her and held onto the back of the maniacally giggling doll’s dress tightly. She looked up at Shinji and raised an eyebrow. “So, any _more_ unmentioned guests?”

 

Shinji hummed in thought. “Nope, there are no other stowaways, all invited parties are present!”

 

He turned an unseen eye towards a small dot on the otherwise unblemished horizon. ‘ _Though that doesn’t mean that all invited parties have decided to introduce themselves._ ’

 

General Armstrong scowled. “You still haven’t answered the original question. Why. Are. We. Here?”

 

Shinji sighed. “Very well then.”

 

Everyone present got quiet and listened attentively. This was it. This was what they had wanted to hear.

 

“The original eleven letters were sent out by a specific group. This group requires your presence. They need you to set in motion a plan of theirs. The end results of their plan are in good faith, with good intentions, but the current path they are taking is not the best one they _could_ be taking. To have optimal results, for everything to turn out at its best possible, the presence of all of you is required. Without you, the coming events would pass in a much less preferred manner.”

 

There were a lot of twitching eyes and grinding teeth at the explanation.

 

“Jeez, thanks _so_ much for the explanation.” Anko rolled her eyes. “Do you think you could be any _more_ vague?"

 

Shinji glanced up and struck a brief thinking pose. Then he nodded. “Some people somewhere sent those letters out to you people for very important reasons. I multiplied the letters and sent it out to everyone else for my own reasons, which are simply the want to have the future have a more reasonable outcome.” He smirked at Anko. “Vague enough?”

 

By this time, Anko couldn’t reply because she was growling with rage and being held in a full nelson by Kakashi, both her hands gripping very pointy kunai. Well, she _could_ reply, but she wasn’t speaking to Shinji.

 

“Anko, now is _not_ the time!”

 

“BITE ME, KAKASHI! NOW IS _PRECISELY_ THE TIME! I’M GOING TO GUT HIM LIKE A PUPPY!”

 

“LIKE A _WHAT!?!”_ “YIP!”

 

“Kiba, Akamaru, calm down. Anko, as far as we know, he’s _immortal_! What the hell are you going to do, just keep stabbing and stabbing and… and that is _exactly_ your plan, isn’t it?”

 

“ _FUCK YEAH IT IS!”_

 

Having enough of the spectacle, Negi finally spoke up. “Okay, fine, so that’s why, but explain this to me. All of your plans hinge on us going. So, what will you do to us if we decide not to go?”

 

Shinji shrugged. “Nothing.”

 

Negi blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

 

“You heard me, absolutely nothing. I can’t make you go, and I won’t try to either. If you decide to not go then fine, that’s your call.”

 

Allen frowned in confusion. “But… why? Why give us a choice in something so crucial?”

 

Shinji smiled. “Because I’m certain that you all _will_  choose to go, of your own free will. There’s only one thing I have to do.”

 

Everyone tensed, waiting anxiously for the answer. “And that would be?” Natsu answered, his hands seconds away from bursting into flames.

 

“Talk.”

 

Everyone blinked. “Huh!?”

 

Shinji smiled. “I suspect a good portion of you have guessed it already, but allow me to point something out: Your clothes, your abilities, hell, even your accents! They’re all foreign to you, none of the people present fit in with the ones you’re used to seeing. Why is this?”

 

His smile widened. “Simple. You’re all from different worlds.”

 

Those who already guessed it tensed and cast glances amongst the crowd, while others who hadn’t exclaimed in shock.

 

“YOU’RE FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD!?” Natsu, Naruto, and Luffy shouted as they pointed at each other.

 

“As I thought,” Evangeline muttered.

 

“Oh dear...” Miranda whispered as she glanced around fearfully.

 

‘ _So,_ that _explains the weird soul wavelengths!_ ’ Maka thought to herself as she eyed the self-professed magi present.

 

Shinji nodded. “Indeed, you are all from different worlds. And the people who sent you those letters are from their own world as well.”

 

Ed frowned. “How the hell does this help convince us to answer these mysterious summons?”

 

“Because. I want to ask you. Do you think that’s all there is?”

 

The crowd gathered grumbled in confusion.

 

Shinji spread his hands wide. “I mean, _eleven_ worlds? Do you honestly think that that is all that exists? That that is all there is, was, or will be?”

 

There was more talking, until finally it quieted down when Tsuna asked a question. “W-what are you trying to get at?”

 

Shinji hummed as he rubbed his chin. “Allow me to show you.” He snapped his fingers.

 

And then they were in space. No warning, they were just suddenly in space above a big, familiar planet.

 

At first, there was much screaming and panicking before finally people calm down.

 

“Woah... this is awesome!” Natsu cried out.

 

“Aye sir!” Happy concurred.

 

“ACK, GAH! No... air! World... growing... dim!” Patty exclaimed as she gripped at her neck.

 

“Patty, we can breathe.” Liz deadpanned.

 

Patty stopped choking and blinked. “Oh, you’re right!” She giggled and scratched the back of her head. “My bad.”

 

“But, wait,” Sakura said as she looked at the continent on the planet below. “Those aren’t the Elemental Nations.”

 

“Yeah, and those aren’t the Blues either...” Nami said. “Wow, those are some pretty big islands.”

 

“Those aren’t islands, they’re continents,” Lucy said. Then she squinted at the planet. “And I can’t see Fiore anywhere.”

 

Shinji nodded. “Correct. Not all of your worlds look exactly the same. This planet is the most numerous amongst your worlds. This,” he gestured at the celestial body. “Is Earth, the cradle of humanity.”

 

Natsu scoffed. “Earth? That’s a boring name.”

 

Naruto glared at him. “And what do you call _your_ planet?”

 

“Earthland, of course!” Natsu said as he puffed out his chest in pride.

 

Everyone not from said world stared at him incredulously. He looked around in confusion. “What?”

 

Shinji shook his head. “ _Anyways._ I want to show you the scale of things.

 

Luffy frowned in confusion. What do you mean, the scale?”

 

Shinji hummed. “Well, for starters, Earth. Up close, it looks rather huge, right? From here, any single person on that planet isn’t even a speck. Now, let’s move out.” The view zoomed out, and suddenly, everyone could see the sun, and all of the other planets. “This is the solar system. As you can see, from here, Earth,” He gestured at a small blue marble that was a relatively short distance away from the ball that was the Sun, “Is far, far smaller. And think of how tiny you are now.”

 

“Now, let’s move out again.” Once more, the view stretched, and the solar system became a speck of light, surrounded by thousands of others. “This is the Sun as a star. From here, we can’t even perceive Earth. Now, moving out once more.” Another change of view, this time viewing the galaxy. “The Milky Way! Your home galaxy, and again.” They saw the Milky Way, smaller, and this time, with huge gaps of space in between it and other galaxies. “And again.” The surrounding space was starry again, but those weren’t stars they were seeing. They were galaxies.

 

As everyone gaped at the spectacle, Shinji walked around. “This is the size of a single one of your worlds. Massive, unending, infinite, even. And in the grand scheme of things, do you know what this infinity is?”

 

Shinji held up his hand and moved his index and thumb together, till there was nothing separating them. Suddenly, the sky of galaxies zoomed to the point of intersection. and once anew the group was surrounded by the white. “Nothing.”

 

Everyone reeled in shock from the sudden change of perspectives. “Wh-what!?” Tsubaki exclaimed in confusion.

 

“You heard me. Nothing.” Shinji began to pace again. “In the grand scheme of things, in the overall layout of existence, a single world, the entirety of infinity, is nothing. Not even all of your worlds together, ten whole worlds, ten infinities, can they be anything more than nothing.”

 

“Wh-how?!” Negi protested. “How can so much, something so big... be nothing?!”

 

Shinji smiled mysteriously. “Tell me, has anyone ever heard of… the multiverse theory?”

 

“The multiverse theory states that for every choice made, a new version of the universe is created from that choice, one for each possible choice.” Chachamaru intoned, sounding as though she were reading it out of a textbook.

 

Shinji smiled and clapped his hands. “Correct! But slightly false. See, there isn’t a new world for every choice, no. There’s a new world for every _possibility!”_

 

Naruto scratched his head. “Um... what’s the difference?”

 

Shinji smiled. “In one world, a man flips a coin. Two worlds are born from that one, one where the coin lands on heads, and one where it lands on tails. But!” He raised a finger. “Then there are the other worlds. Worlds where the coin landed on its side, worlds where something interfered as the coin span! And even then! The lighting on the coin! Where the coin landed, down to a picometer! The misplacement of a single atom! When I say every possibility, I mean every. Possibility. Possible.”

 

Reborn’s eyes widened. “Wait a second. Then... then that means-!”

 

Shinji smiled. “How can an infinity be nothing? Simple. When that infinity is a single infinity in an infinity of infinities.” Shinji spread his arms wide. “Ladies and gentlemen! Allow me to introduce you to... the Multiverse!”

 

It was a desert. That was the closest comparison. An endless expanse of particles, extending as far as the eye could see. But the difference? It didn’t extend past the horizon. It _was_ the horizon. Even the sky itself was more particles. And the particles weren’t sand. Sand was small, and had a single color. This, this looked small, but each particle just had this _feeling_ of immensity that was just... there! And the colors! Shifting, changing, too many in an instant, at times there were colors that could not even begin to be described.

 

“This is the Multiverse, in its truest form,” Shinji said. He smiled as he gazed about. “Everything that is. Everything that ever was. Everything that ever will be. Everything that ever could be.” Shinji walked around slightly, his stance seeming to lose tension. “It doesn’t even need an atom, you know? Even the slightest thought, the slightest glimmer of imagination...” A patch of particles exploded upwards, multiplying, expanding exponentially, trillions being born at a time,  “And it renews.” He turned around and smiled wistfully at the group. “This is true infinity. This is everything. The Multiverse. Existence.”

 

Shinji suddenly jerked back, grimacing. He shook his head vigorously. “Crap, got sucked in. Okay, you get the gist of it, back we go!” He snapped his fingers again and they were back in the white void.

 

The group shuddered. There were tons of murmurs and speaking, people trying to understand what had just happened.

 

Soul shook his head. “Woah. Ok, now _that_ was kind of cool.”

 

Maka nodded. “But... what was the point of it?”

 

“Besides showing us just how tiny we are in the grand scheme of things.” Sango said as she crossed her arms and glared at the immensely powerful individual.

 

Shinji smiled. “It guaranteed you would go.”

 

Inuyasha sputtered. “Buh-ho- what the hell do you mean!?”

 

Shinji raised a finger. “One word. Curiosity.”

 

At the grumbles of confusion, Shinji clapped his hands. “You see, you’re all curious. You know what’s out there, how there’s no end to what’s out there. You want to see it. You want to view a fraction of it. To glimpse an iota of it. The people who sent that letter? They can make that happen. They travel the Multiverse, they can take you out there, broaden your horizons, expose the new frontier! You just saw how small you are, but that’s not bad, that’s good! Tell me, who here can truly, _honestly_ say that they won’t be going?”

 

Everyone looked around. People blushed, they looked at the ground, they chewed their lips, but no one, not even the most logical, could find it in themselves to say no.

 

Save for one.

 

“Me.”

 

Everyone stared in shock as Evangeline raised her hand.

 

Ichigo blinked before he recoiled. “CRAP! We can’t go! We need to stay in Karakura Town! If Aizen attacks while we’re away...” Images of his family and friends flashed through his mind. He shook his head vigorously to dispel them. “I’m sorry, but we can’t risk it.”

 

Naruto swore and spun towards Sakura. “Sakura, the contact!”

 

Sakura’s eyes widened. “Oh no... Sasuke!”

 

Ed paled. “The Promised Day...” He whipped his head towards Mustang, Hawkeye and the Armstrongs. “How the hell were you able to leave Central anyways!? Father would have had you under a microscope!”

 

Mustang looked uneasy. “It wasn’t easy. Had to call in a lot of favors, pull a lot of tricks.” He swallowed. “Had to slip away from the people following me...”

 

Ed’s eyes widened. “Why the hell would you do that?! He _has_ to know that something’s up!”

 

Mustang scowled at no one in particular. “The letter... it... there was something about it... I had to go...”

 

Ed’s eyes widened, his genius mind already coming to probable conclusions. He whipped towards Shinji. “What the hell did you do to those letters!?”

 

Throughout the crowd, people were realizing that they’d followed the letters despite their responsibilities and plans and were reacting with outrage.

 

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Takuma!” Inuyasha growled.

 

Shinji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “The letters _may_ or may not have had a _minor_ major mental compulsion on them that would have probably maybe definitely gotten you to drop everything and follow the instructions within...?” Seeing that the crowd was about to explode, he chuckled nervously. “In my defense, the initial letters had them as well, so all I did was replicate said spell...”

 

Natsu growled. “Give us one reason why we shouldn’t see how much it takes to make you dead and _stay_ dead?”

 

Shinji quickly reassumed his confident position. “Well, for starters, there’s a small matter of time dilation. It’s really complex and full of big words most of you wouldn’t understand,” ‘ _Yes, I’m calling most of you stupid._ ’ “But the short of it is that a really long amount of time where you’re going is the same as a really small amount of time passing back home, so you wouldn’t really be gone for long. Also, the people you’re going to meet will really be able to help with your varying problems. Also, Evangeline?” He turned to look at her. “Your curse won’t affect you and you’ll be able to go where you want. Fair warning though; try any shit and you’ll be stomped. Hard.”

 

Evangeline deadpanned at him.

 

Shinji shrugged. “Hey, do what you will, but the people there will be giving you a clean slate. Don’t screw it up.” He glanced around. “So. Once again, anybody not going to go?”

 

No one. Without anything holding them back, not a single person, amongst them all, could find it in themselves to reject their inner abject curiosity.

 

One person did raise their hand though. “Uh, hey, do you think you could do one thing for us, oh powerful one?” Liz asked in a deadpan tone.

 

Shinji raised an eyebrow. “What?”

 

She pointed down at her meister. “Any chance you could wake him and the others up for us?”

 

Shinji slapped his forehead. “D’oh! I knew I was forgetting something! Omniscience my omnipotent ass, try full-of-blindspots-science...” He grumbled to himself as he snapped his fingers. Throughout the crowd, those who had been rendered unconscious were revitalized.

 

Sanji sat up straight. “Nami, Robin! Are you all-gagh! My head!” He clutched at his throbbing cranium. “What the- how do I know what just happened in the last few minutes?!”

 

“You’re welcome!” Shinji called out. He looked around. “So! Anyone _else?”_

 

 

Shinji grinned “Very well then. Shinji Takuma, we’re done here.” He raised his fingers to snap them, but was stopped.

 

“Wait!” Ichigo shouted.

 

“Hm?” Shinji tilted his head.

 

Ichigo glared at him. “Who are you?”

 

Shinji smiled enigmatically. “Just a concerned citizen. Now it’s time to say farewell. Live long and prosper, etcetera, etcetera.”

 

He snapped his fingers, and they were gone.

 

Shinji sighed in relief. “Okay, so that turned out well.”

 

“Agreed, that was rather interesting. Hehehehe...”

 

Shinji straightened his posture and crossed his arms defensively, glaring at nothing in particular.

 

Behind him, giggling like nobody’s business, was a white being, only visible due to the dark hue surrounding the relative edges of his form. There were no facial features except for a grin so wide it almost split his face.

 

Shinji wished it was splitting it.

 

Behind the humanoid being was a giant set of closed stone doors. Indented onto the grey surface was the same vision as what Shinji’s temporary guests had seen, or a similar rendition of it.

 

Shinji didn’t turn. “Hello, Truth.”

 

“Hello,” Truth’s smile widened by several teeth. “Brother.”

 

-0-

 

**Location: Pumpkin House**

 

Maka blinked in shock, trying to clear her vision and determine where she was.

 

“Maka!”

 

Looking to the side, she saw a concerned Soul. “Are you okay?”

 

She nodded. “Y-yeah, I think so... are we back?”

 

“Yeah. We all are.”

 

“And you saw-?”

 

“A blond midget bite a Metal Dragonslayer’s nose, somebody who was apparently stronger than Asura and Lord Death combined times ten, and you buddying up with said nose-biter and an exorcist.”

 

Mala blushed. “Uh, well, you see-”

 

Soul held his hands up. “Hey, it’s none business of my who your friends are. ‘Sides...” He grinned at her, “They seemed pretty cool.”

 

Maka sighed in relief. “Right...” She looked up at the pumpkin house in front of her. “We’re back, so...”

 

-o-

 

**Location: Abandoned Church**

 

“...what do we do now?” Allen finished, looking at his friends. They were standing in an old abandoned church. He shivered slightly at the memories the place dug up. _‘Another day, another Akuma... though honestly, it_ was _the first time the police actually got involved.’_

 

Lavi raised his hand. “I vote we go with the flow.”

 

Kanda scowled at him. “Mind giving a reason for that, one-eye?”

 

Lavi shrugged. “Whoever they are, they seem to be really strong, and they know a lot.” He grinned at Kanda. “Besides, Yu, it’s my duty as a Bookman to come along and catalog everything for history, you know that!”

 

Kanda’s eye twitched and he grabbed Mugen’s hilt. “Don’t call me Yu!”

 

Krory waved his hands. “Please, please! No fighting!”

 

Lenalee shyly raised a hand. “Um, there is one thing.”

 

Allen looked at her. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well, you see, the question is...”

 

-o-

 

**Location: Whiskey Peak**

 

“How do we get to this ‘Order’?” Nami asked.

 

The infamous Strawhat Pirates looked at each other with confusion. Usopp shook his head, as if he was disappointed by the woman’s apparent ignorance. “Ah Nami, poor confused Nami. Isn’t it obvious?”

 

Nami blanched. “No, it isn’t.”

 

Luffy shrugged his shoulders. “All we have to do is follow the instructions on the letter and we’ll get to the Order!”

 

Usopp sighed. “Jeez, and you call us stupid, what about your-!”

 

“YOU IDIOTS!”

 

“OUCH!”

 

“OW!”

 

The pair lay on the ground, their skulls smoking from the blows. Nami huffed angrily. “The letters only told us to come here! Nothing else! And in case you haven’t noticed,” She swept her arms out, gesturing at the abandoned town and the huge, cactus-shaped hills. “WE’RE THE ONLY LIVING THINGS FOR MILES!”

 

Luffy quickly righted himself and looked around. “Oh, you’re right... sooooo, what do we do then?”

 

Nami hit him again, a vein in her forehead so very close to popping. “THAT’S WHAT I WAS ASKING, DUMBASS!”

 

“Calm down, would ya?” Zoro said in a bored manner. “Getting angry won’t do squat, for now, all we can do is sit around...”

 

-o-

 

**Location: Bone-Eater’s Well**

 

“And wait,” Sango suggested.

 

Kagome sighed as she sat on the well’s edge. She glanced forlornly over her shoulder, down into the well’s depths. _‘So close to home, yet so far.’_ She noticed Kikyo standing apart from everyone, staring across the field. Her opinion on the priestess was mixed, but she summoned the courage to speak to her. “Is something on your mind, Kikyo?”

 

The revenant spared her reincarnation a glance before resuming her vigil. “I am... uncomfortable, to be leaving. I fear it is not wise to leave instead of searching for Naraku’s heart.”

 

Inuyasha grunted in agreement. “Believe me, I want that bastard dead as much as you do.” His mind drifted back to the night before.

 

‘ _Nothing shall ever be the same._ ’

 

He let out an imperceptible shudder. “But I really don’t think we have that much choice in the matter.”

 

Shippo nodded. “Yeah, that’s true...” He smiled, trying to alleviate the tension, “But hey, look on the bright side!”

 

-o-

 

**Location: Hargeon**

 

“Maybe things will turn out for the better!” Happy exclaimed.

 

“No they won’t. They never will...” Natsu mumbled dejectedly from his slumped posture.

 

Lucy raised an eyebrow at his antics. “What’s got you down?”

 

Natsu tilted his head slightly to gaze at her forlornly. “Isn’t it obvious?”

 

Gray rolled his eyes. “Spit it out, pinkie.”

 

“IT’S THE SEA!” Natsu exploded angrily, jabbing his fingers out, pointing past the docks and into the water.

 

Gajeel blinked nonchalantly. “Yeeeah, I thought that that was obvious?”

 

Natsu ground his teeth. “DON’T YOU GET IT YET YOU IDIOT!?”

 

Gajeel deadpanned at him. “Enlighten us.”

 

“We are on a dock. Waiting to be brought to the Order. Don’t you see the problem with that!?”

 

Wendy tilted her head in confusion. “Uhhh...”

 

“BOATS!”

 

Erza felt her eye twitch. “Come again?”

 

“We’re gonna have to get on a boat to get to the Order!” Natsu tilted forward, clutching his stomach. “I feel sick already!”

 

Lucy sighed. “Should have expected this...” She blinked and looked down when she something tug on her skirt. “What is it, Wendy?”

 

“Umm...” The young Dragonslayer glanced at Natsu. “Should I remind him that I can cure his motion-sickness with Troia?”

 

Lucy smirked. “Nah, let him squirm. If he’s so stupid that he thinks we’ll get to another world by boat, so be it.” She looked back at Happy. “Anyways, what do you mean, Happy?”

 

The blue cat smiled joyfully. “You see-”

 

-o-

 

**Location: Shack in the Woods**

 

“Maybe they’ll be able to help us out, like Shinji said!” Naruto said.

 

Sakura blinked and tilted her head. “I don’t follow.”

 

“Well, that Shinji guy said that the Order is really strong, right?”

 

Shikamaru nodded. “Yeah...”

 

“Then maybe if we get their help, a lot of our problems will be easier!”

 

Fuu hummed and tilted her head. “I dunno...”

 

Hinata nodded in agreement before she blinked in surprise. She whipped her head around to stare at the girl. “W-wait, d-didn’t you say you were in Rain Country?”

 

Fuu stared at her for a second before her jaw dropped open. She whipped her head around looking in shock. “Wh- This isn’t where I was! What the hell!?”

 

“YOSH! Perhaps it was Shinji! It would seem he has done us a most youthful favor!”

 

“Speak for yourself, fuzzy-brows!” Fuu snapped. She grit her teeth in frustration. “Damn it, what the hell am I gonna tell the elders, ‘Oh, sorry I didn’t get the info you wanted, I got shanghaied by a multi-dimensional super-being!’”

 

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t they buy it? It sounds totally logical to me!”

 

Fuu blinked before calming down. “Oh yeah, good point, it _is_ a totally logical explanation!”

 

 _‘Are these two serious?’_ was the general thought shared by most people in the clearing.

 

Kakashi sighed heavily. “I think that you’re all forgetting something.”

 

The ninja turned their heads toward him. “Oh yeah?” Naruto asked. “What?”

 

-o-

 

**Location: Namimori High, after hours**

 

“How can we be sure that they can be trusted?” Reborn asked.

 

“Uh, well, I-I...”

 

Reborn scoffed, “No-Good Tsuna. So naive. There’s every chance that this could be a trap.”

 

“If it is, then it’s an incredibly elaborate one,” Mukuro stated casually.

 

Chrome swallowed and nodded. “M-Mukuro is right. I-It wasn’t a Mist Illusion. What just h-happened was real.”

 

“Even so,” Gokudera mused, “There’s no guarantee that they’re really all that friendly. They could actually want to harm the Vongola,” He growled to himself. “If they think that they’re going to hurt the Tenth under _my_ watch-!”

 

“ENOUGH!”

 

Most of the people present jerked back in surprise as Tsuna shouted. They were shocked to see his eyes flashing bronze.

 

Tsuna calmed down, breathing heavily. Finally, he spoke. “Look, you’re all right. We _don’t_ have any idea whether or not they can be trusted. But the thing is, I... I want to take this chance. If it turns out bad, it’s on my head. B-but... I just have this feeling. If we do this, things will change. I don’t know what, and I don’t know if it’s for the better or for the worse, but we have to take that chance.” He swallowed nervously. “So...”

 

-o-

 

**Location: North-Eastern Amestris**

 

“What do you guys say?” Ed asked.

 

The people in the clearing were silent before finally...

 

“I’ll follow you, brother,” Al said.

 

“Me too, Ed,” Winry said. She cut the brothers off before they could say anything. “ _Don’t_ try and argue with me you two. I’m coming, even if I have to beat it into your heads with my monkey wrench, so I suggest you drop it, _got it?”_

 

The brothers nodded vigorously.

 

Ed swallowed heavily as he eyed his childhood cru-FRIEND! warily. “So, everyone else?”

 

There were sounds of assent from the surrounding group.

 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?”

 

Well, most of the group.

 

Yoki was in a near state of panic. “First you all come here out of the blue, then that weird flash of light, and now you’re all talking crazy! WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED!?!”

 

“Yoki,” Scar said.

 

Yoki glanced at the ishvalan. “Yes?”

 

Scar affixed him with a killer glare through his sunglasses. “Shut up.”

 

Yoki swallowed heavily. “Got it.”

 

“So,” Darius asked. “How much longer do we have to wait?”

 

Ed shrugged. “Who knows. Get comfortable we could be here a-WHAT THE HELL!?”

 

Everyone present cried out in alarm when a bright light began to shine out from the center of them.

 

“OH COME ON!” Ed shouted as he shielded his eyes.

 

-o-

 

**Location: Training Ground beneath Urahara Shop**

 

“NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!” Ichigo protested.

 

They all braced themselves to be transported once more, but were surprised when instead, the light began to die down and fade.

 

“What on earth... was...” Hitsugaya trailed off as he and everyone else gaped at what was before them.

 

Sticking out of the ground was a pillar. Approximately ten feet tall, composed of pure, translucent crystal, filled with shifting shapes and colors. On the side facing them was an opening, a doorway with the same bright light that had precluded the pillar’s appearance shining through. Above the doorway, impressed into the  crystal, was the star-insignia that had been on all the envelopes.

 

The group stared in awe at the incredible structure.

 

“Beautiful...” Yumichika breathed.

 

“Wow...” Orihime said. “It’s incredible.”

 

Ichigo nodded. “Three guesses on how we’re getting to the Order, first two don’t count.”

 

Uryuu sighed in exasperation. “Well, look on the bright side. It can’t be any worse than the nightmares that Urahara calls transportation.”

 

Ichigo chose not to respond to that, instead remembering the mysterious shopkeeper’s reaction to the letters. He’d been... tense, evasive. He definitely knew something, but whatever it was he’d refused to say. Normally, Ichigo would have pressed him, but this time, something had been different. Personal. He’d decided to leave it alone. For now.

 

Ichigo took a step forwards, drawing everyone’s attention. “Well, I guess there’s only one thing we can do now, huh?”

 

-o-

 

**Location: In front of the World Tree, Mahora Academy**

 

“Let’s head in.” Negi said.

 

The his class agreed, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

 

“Down the rabbit hole, eh boyo?” Evangeline asked with a smirk.

 

Negi nodded. “Why not? We won’t know what’s there until we get there.”

 

“It’s gonna be great!” Chamo exclaimed form his shoulder. “See new sights, meet new people...” He grinned lecherously as he flashed his camera. “Take pictures _of_ said people...”

 

“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me,” Asuna said. “Give me that!” She snatched the camera from Chamo’s paws and crushed it in her fist.

 

“MY CAMERA!” Chamo cried in dismay. “Do you have any idea how much that cost!?!”

 

“Not as much as your hospital bills will be unless you shut it, got it you little rat?” Asuna growled menacingly.

 

The ermine whimpered in response.

 

“Asuna!” Negi reprimanded her.

 

“What?” She protested. “He totally deserved it!”

 

Negi sighed in exasperation. Shaking his head silently, he walked up the pillar, but stopped directly in front of the opening.

 

His students stopped behind him, eyeing him with worry.

 

“N-negi?” Nodoka asked quietly.

 

Chamo tried to get a glimpse of Negi’s face from his shoulder. “Hey, Negmeister, what’s the hold-up?”

 

Negi stared silently into the light, filled with apprehension.

 

_‘Tomorrow, nothing will ever be the same.’_

 

Negi swallowed nervously. _‘If we do this... what if I put my students in danger? What if-”_

 

Negi was snapped out of his pessimistic thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into Asuna’s unusually worried face.

 

“Are you okay, Negi?” She asked quietly.

 

Negi was silent for a second before quickly smiling confidently. “Yes. I’m fine. Let’s get going.”

 

Asuna smiled back nodded.

 

Negi looked back into the light. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped into the light. After that...

 

-o-

 

_Infinity. Expanding outwards and inwards, on and on and on, the expanse of Existence displayed for all to see, in all it’s splendor. But the travellers were not left to wander. A singular point, a destination, chosen and determined. They moved towards it. And then..._

 

-o-

 

“GAH!” Negi had been unprepared for when his feet had once again touched the ground, and had promptly landed on his face. He groaned lightly from the impact. _‘Figures. Martial artists tournament and I reach the finals, walking and I trip over my own two feet.’_

 

As he slowly picked himself up, he blinked in surprise as he saw the hand in front of his face. Looking past the hand, he saw a pair of blue eyes and spiky brown hair.

 

“A-are you alright?” Tsuna asked.

 

Negi blinked again before smiling. “Yeah.” He took Tsuna’s hand and let him pull him up. “Thank you, Tsuna.”

 

Tsuna returned the smile nervously. “No problem.”

 

Negi looked back over his shoulder and was relieved to see his students arriving safely through the light. “Well, it looks like we’re all here. What about everyone else, did they arrive safely?”

 

Tsuna nodded hesitantly. “Y-yeah. Everyone’s here. But, well, as for where here is...” he trailed off.

 

Negi looked around and saw what he meant. Everywhere he looked, he saw the same crystal that had constructed the pillar that had brought them here. Not only that, but there were many other pillars present as well, with wide spaces between them. They had the same light shining through their openings.

 

The ground was uneven, dropping off to the left and right. It originated from a huge tower of the material that stretched upwards. The top and sides were obscured by more offshoots of crystal extending outwards, hiding the sky from sight.

 

It reminded Negi of something. Something very familiar...

 

He blinked in surprise. “Are we on a tree?”

 

“Indeed, Mr. Teacher,” Negi looked behind him and up at the woman who had spoken. “It appears we are in the branches of a rather large, crystalline tree.”

 

Negi blinked in recognition “Oh, hello! Nico, right?”

 

The woman smiled kindly. “Please, call me Robin. And I’m rather more interested in that.” She pointed at something above Negi’s head.

 

Negi and Tsuna looked up, blinking in surprise at what they saw. Above the openings of the pillars were glowing symbols, shaped in strange and alien forms.

 

Tsuna gulped as he watched them float in place. “Wh-what are those?”

 

Negi’s eyes widened as he adjusted his glasses. “Fascinating! These appear to be runes! What’s more, I believe that they have some of built-in translator!”

 

Tsuna blinked in realization. “Y-you’re right! I can read them!”

 

Robin nodded. “Indeed. So can I.”

 

The symbols above the gate read _‘Blue Seas’._

 

“Considering how that’s the gate we exited from, I can only surmise that the symbols describe the destination for each gate.” She concluded.

 

Tsuna nodded, scanning the other pillars. He started in surprise. “Hey! That’s the one I came out of! But, it’s got a funny name. Earth 213-Kappa?”

 

Negi cupped his chin as he looked at the odd name. “Shinji did say that Earth is the most common world. The numbers and letters must be used to distinguish it from others.”

 

Robin nodded. “The question, however, is who requires these distinctions? Who utilizes these gates?”

 

Negi nodded in agreement. Then he stopped and blinked at a thought. “Robin, you said you were part of a pirate crew, yes?”

 

Robin lifted an eyebrow as she looked at him questioningly. “Yes, that’s correct. Why?”

 

“Well, where did your captain go?”

 

Robin blinked at that before covering her mouth to hide her smile. “Oh, I’m sure Luffy will turn up sooner or later.”

 

“HEEEY! GUYS! CHECK IT OUT!”

 

“You see?”

 

Negi whipped his head around and stared dumbfounded. Luffy, Natsu and Naruto were standing at the edge of the branch, gesturing wildly.

 

“YEAH! YOU GOTTA SEE THIS, IT’S AMAZING!” Naruto crowed.

 

Tsuna swallowed as he observed the trio on their precarious perch. “I-isn’t that a bit dangerous?”

 

Negi shrugged. “I guess.” He began to walk forwards.

 

“W-where are you going?”

 

Negi looked over his shoulder. “To join them, of course.”

 

Tsuna’s jaw dropped open. “Wha- _join them!?_ B-but what if you fall or-!?”

 

Negi smiled and shrugged. “Well for starters, me falling would be a feat, considering my skill set. Second, well...” He spread his arms out. “We’re in a brand new _world!_ Do you really want to miss out on seeing what it’s like?”

 

Tsuna stuttered as he looked at the trio. “I-I...” Finally, he swallowed heavily and nodded. “A-alright then.”

 

“I’m surprised, No-Good Tsuna.”

 

Tsuna jumped in shock from the voice next to his head. “HIE! R-REBORN!”

 

The baby hitman smirked at his charge. “This takes quite a bit of courage. Are you really going to go through with it?”

 

Tsuna swallowed. “Wh-where did you-?”

 

Reborn shrugged. “Here and there, making a few friends.” He glared at Tsuna. “Don’t change the subject. Are you really going to do it?”

 

Tsuna looked at him, debating what to do.

 

_‘Nothing will be the same.’_

 

Tsuna swallowed, his eyes gaining an edge. _‘If I want to change... If I don’t want to be No-Good anymore... It starts with me.’_ He nodded at Reborn. “Yeah, I’m going.” He nodded at Negi and began walking forwards. “Let’s do it.”

 

Negi smiled and walked alongside him.

 

Reborn hopped off his shoulder as he walked, smiling as his charge moved ahead. _‘It’s only a small bit... but progress is progress.’_ He blinked in surprise when someone walked up next to him, but then smiled. “Miss Robin.” Somebody shorter walked up as well. “And  Miss McDowell.”

 

“Hello there Mister Hitman.” Robin smiled down at him.

 

“Reborn,” The Nosferatu replied cooly. She watched as her student walked off with the mafioso. “It appears our apprentices have hit it off.”

 

The hitman nodded. “Indeed. I assume that won’t be a problem?”

 

Evangeline shrugged nonchalantly. “Eh. The brat could do with a few more guy friends. Besides, it appears that this ‘Tenth Vongola’ might have some hidden depths.”

 

Reborn nodded. Then he spiked his killing intent. “If you try anything...”

 

Evangeline returned the gesture, her expression neutral. “Right back at you, brat.”

 

Robin chuckled at the exchange. “My my, it appears that this is going to be rather interesting.” She turned her eyes towards the retreating backs of the two. She raised an eyebrow at what she saw. “Mister Hitman...”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You realize that the iron will he demonstrated a few moments ago...” She watched as Tsuna shook like a leaf as he walked away. “Was all a bluff, correct?”

 

Reborn smirked. “Of course I do. But he doesn’t know that.”

 

Robin hid her mouth as she chuckled again. “Interesting indeed...”

 

**-o-**

 

Tsuna and Negi weren’t the only ones heading towards the edge.

 

“So,” Allen asked. “What do you think we’ll see?”

 

Ed shrugged. “Who knows. The moon maybe?”

 

Maka opened her mouth to protest, but snapped it shut and sighed. “Honestly, considering the circumstances, that doesn’t seem so far-fetched.”

 

Soul shrugged. “Besides, that would be kinda cool. Cliché, but cool.”

 

Allen chuckled at that, then turned serious as he looked up. “Well, I suppose you might as well get ready, because here we are.”

 

The quartet weren’t the only ones to arrive. Tsuna and Negi came up alongside them, Negi patting Tsuna on the back as he helped him along. Inuyasha and Ichigo had also arrived, the two eyeing each other warily.

 

The rest of the crowd was slightly behind them, talking amongst themselves.

 

Natsu gestured at them. “C’mon, c’mon, you gotta see this!”

 

Ed sighed in exasperation. “Alright, alright, let’s... see...” He trailed off as he looked over the edge. “Woah...”

 

Inuyasha’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

 

Soul smirked. “Cool.”

 

Luffy chuckled. “I know, right!”

 

Allen swallowed heavily. “This is a whole new world alright.”

 

That was an understatement. They were high in the sky, almost a thousand feet up. And they were looking down on a city. A huge, incredible city. It was... strange. Portions of it were made of metal, skyscrapers stretching into the heavens, their metal bodies gleaming in the light. They were futuristic, decades ahead of any of their worlds. Other parts, on the other hand, were made of stone. Ancient towers, with unearthly lights glowing around them. There were forests and plains and roads. Some parts were alight with flames that none moved to combat, while others were frozen solid.

 

Above the city could be seen vessels, lazily floating along or zipping by, constructed from either wood or metal, held up by the laws of science, or by something that made contradicted science itself.

 

Technology, magic, nature, all of these elements and more, were all mixed together, in a single metropolis.

 

Negi re-adjusted his glasses as he looked out over the city. “This is surreal.”

 

“Definitely never gonna be the same again, that’s for sure.” Naruto mumbled to himself.

 

Ichigo snapped his head around in shock. “Wait, what did you just say?”

 

Naruto’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, you-” He saw that the others on the edge were looking at him as well. “All of us?”

 

“You have got to be kidding me...” Ed muttered.

 

Negi opened his mouth to speak, but quickly snapped it shut when Asuna approached. She whistled appreciatively as she looked out over the edge. “Wow, this place is amazing!”

 

Negi discretely shot the others a look that clearly said ‘later’ as the crowd pressed in.

 

“Incredible!”

 

“Holy. Shit.”

 

“Hey, look over there! That’s amazing!”

 

“I think I just saw a dragon!”

 

“Awesome!”

 

As things quieted down, one of them finally asked the crucial question.

 

“Wh-where are we?” Hinata stuttered.

 

“Well see, that’s a question with multiple answers.”

 

The interlopers turned around in shock to view the unknown speaker.

 

He had an average build, standing close to six feet tall. He was wearing a pair of pure-white pants that had electric blue-highlights. The rest of his attire consisted of a similar color palette. His army boots, his fingerless gloves, even the greatcoat he was wearing. He had a bandana tied around his neck that was similarly colored as well. Attached to his upper left arm was an armband, blue on the borders, white in the middle, with a stylized blue A imprinted on it.

 

He had short blonde hair and white irises. His face was set in a calm, relaxed smile.

 

“The place where we’re standing right now is known as The Crossroads. Out there,” He pointed past them towards the city. “Is Hub City, the capital of this world, which is known as the Nexus.”

 

“Wh-who are you?” Nodoka squeaked.

 

The man chuckled in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head. “Sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Alpha.” He spread his arms wide in a grand gesture.

 

“Allow me to welcome you to the Order of Stars!”

 

**To Be Continued...**


	5. Everyday Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

**-o-**

 

**Location: The Crossroads**

 

“Ummm...” Hinata asked quietly. “Excuse me, but... I don’t think that he means us any harm...”

 

“Y-yes,” Chrome concurred. “He actually seems kind of nice.”

 

“Listen to them!” Alpha yelped, flinching back from the weapons and various abilities being aimed at him. “Please, I come in peace! Come on, I’m going to retire next week!”

 

The more serious members of the group ignored the two, continuing to threaten the man. “Quiet, girls, we’re conducting an interrogation,” Evangeline said. “Now then, ‘Alpha’ was it? Do your internal organs a favor and tell us about this ‘Order’ and why we’re here. Otherwise...” Her grin turned feral. “Your kidneys get it.”

 

The white-coated man whimpered in fear. “I-I was planning on doing that anyways! Just, well, not _here!”_

 

“And why not?” Mukuro asked, tapping his trident on his shoulder casually. “It appears that every second you remain silent, the closer your _early_ retirement comes.”

 

Alpha swallowed nervously. “For cripes sakes, we’re on top of an enormous crystal tree! Sure, there are wards stopping people from falling off-!”

 

“Really!?” Luffy exclaimed. To the shock of most of the onlookers, he took a running start towards the edge. Luckily, Alpha hadn’t been lying. A wall of glowing runes lit up in front of him and stopped him dead in his tracks, spread-eagled and stuck. “Wow, this is awesome!” He shouted, his voice muffled due to his face being pressed up against the arcane barrier.

 

Alpha’s eye twitched. “Damn it...” He groaned as he ran his hand over his face. “Another idiot powerhouse. Just my luck.”

 

“The way you say that implies you’ve dealt with more than one,” Erza stated questioningly.

 

Alpha sighed and shook his head. “ _Too_ many. It’s a common enough principle: The higher a person’s power level, the _lower_ their I.Q. and-slash-or grasp on sanity.”

 

“My condolences,” Nami growled as she ground Luffy’s face into the floor. “God knows that we can barely deal with one.”

 

“OOOW! Nami! _Whyyyy?”_

 

“YOU KNOW WHY!”

 

“Thank you very much,” the white-clad man said in a sigh. “Anyways, I am entirely willing to explain everything to you, but before that I want to get you all settled in. How about this? I take you all back to my residence, you all choose rooms and roommates and what-not, and then we can begin the big explanations during dinner, alright?”

 

“Will there be meat?” SLAM! “OW! NAMI!”

 

“How about ramen?” SLAM! “OW! SAKURA!”

 

“Um, that’s generous of you and all, but… I’m not sure whether or not you noticed, but there’s over fifty of us here,” Ichigo said in disbelief. “Are you sure your place has enough room?”

 

“Yeah, and why are you being so _friendly_ anyways, ‘Alpha’?” Asuna asked, accusatory.

 

Alpha raised his hand placatingly. “Alright, alright, listen. First and foremost, while Alpha might not be my birth name, it’s the one I choose to go by and everyone calls me, alright? It’s as simple as that. And second, my home has more than enough room, I guarantee it. The reason being the most obvious one; magic.”

 

Alpha held up two fingers, “Third, there are two reasons why I’m helping you all. First, my superiors, who I will tell you all about when we get back to my place, told me to handle you until they’re ready. Your arrival here has caused more than a few ripples, and they’re dealing with the fallout. As for the second...” He gave a reassuring grin and shrugged helplessly. “What can I say? I’m a friendly guy who likes to make friends and help out!”

 

The group was silent for a moment, staring at the foreigner as they processed what he had said. Finally, Allen broke the silence. “You really are, aren’t you?” He asked in bemusement.

 

Alpha chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Basically, yeah. The proof is in the pudding! Or, in this case, the posture.”

 

The other-worldly travellers were confused about his statement for a second before recoiling in shock as they realized what he meant: Not five minutes ago, most of them had been poised to rip his head off, and even before that they had been tense, worried and suffering varying degrees of fear at their unusual situation. That was no longer the case. Over the course of the conversation with Alpha, they had all relaxed, tension simply flowing out of them, leaving them all at ease.

 

Kakashi gave a low whistle. “You’re good at this.”

 

Alpha smiled widely in embarrassment. “Hehe, thanks. It’s why my superiors pulled me out of retirement to do this, you know!”

 

Maka frowned in confusion as she remembered his previous statements. “Wait, pulled you _out_ of retirement? Didn’t you say earlier that you were retiring soon!?”

 

The white-clothed man sighed tiredly as he slumped forwards. “Yeah...Once this job is over and you’re all settled, I’ll be retiring again...Though no doubt next week I’ll be forced to come _out_ of it again!”

 

“What!?” Natsu asked in confusion. “How come? And why are you retired anyways? You’re not a geezer!”

 

Alpha sighed as he tilted his head and crossed his arms. “It’s not my fault!” He lamented. “This damn place is always undergoing one crisis or another so I have to throw my hat into the ring and pull everyone’s collective asses out of the fire. All I want to do is retire in peace! Is that so much to ask!? Stupid sense of duty...”

 

“And as for my age...” His expression became more serious, eliciting surprise from the group. “Word to the wise. Most of the people you’ll see from here on out? I can guarantee that they’re older than they look.”

 

The group mumbled in confusion for a minute before Naruto’s voice rang out. “HEY! Enough talking! Are we going or what!?”

 

Alpha snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh, right! Thanks for that, Shouty MacOrange!”

 

“IT’S NARUTO!”

 

“Sorry, Naruto! Anyways, come on, follow me!” Alpha made to turn around, but suddenly halted. “Oh, before we go! For the record, there’s a chance we might get stopped every once in awhile. After all, I’m a pretty well-known face, so chances are that a few  people will want to talk with me,” he sighed despondently and bowed his head in despair. “Ugh, it’s not fair...I always try and remain inconspicuous, but everyone always notices me and I have no idea why. Ah well, come on everyone! Let’s get a move on!”

 

And with that, he turned around. On his back, stretching from his long-coat’s collar to it’s bottom was a large electric-blue ‘A’.

 

 _“Is he serious!?”_ was the general thought of the group.

 

He walked alone for a full minute before finally, Luffy, Naruto and Natsu started following him.

 

“Natsu! You’re following him!?” Lucy asked in confusion.

 

Natsu shrugged indifferently. “Why? Do you have a better plan?” Naruto and Luffy nodded in agreement.

 

Lucy worked her jaw for a minute before she was broken out of her thoughts by Sakura clapping her hand on her shoulder, sighing despondently. “Don’t you just hate it when they have a point?”

 

Nami groaned and ground the heel of her palm into her forehead. “Don’t I know it... well, come on. These guys are going to go either way, might as well follow them.”

 

And with that, the group followed behind Alpha.

 

Within the crowd, Inuyasha kept his hand on the hilt of his Tessaiga, glancing around and sniffing the air. Nearby, Ichigo was watching him warily. Finally, he decided to speak up quietly. “Hey, everything alright?”

 

Inuyasha shot the orange-haired Soul Reaper a glare before growling and baring his teeth. “Something doesn’t smell right. A _lot_ doesn’t smell right. Someone’s following, someone’s watching, there’s a lot going on that we can’t see. And I don’t like that.”

 

Ichigo frowned and clenched Zangetsu’s hilt. “Tch. Me neither. I like it better when my problems are in front of me.”

 

Inuyasha glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Why are you so curious anyways?”

 

Ichigo returned the look with equal intensity. “I’m curious because it concerns my friends. I won’t allow anyone to threaten them. And you?”

 

Inuyasha kept watching him for a second before growling and setting his eyes dead ahead. “I’m just in this for me, no one else...” As he said this, he unconsciously glanced towards his group. More specifically, towards Kagome.

 

Ichigo noticed and chuckled to himself. “You’re a bad liar, you know that?”

 

Inuyasha growled angrily as he glared at Ichigo. Finally, he grunted quickened his pace. “Whatever. Just stay out of my way, got it?”

 

Ichigo accelerated just as much, a smirk present on his lips. “Fine by me, so long as you do the same.”

 

And with that, they continued on in silence.

 

As they had spoken, Alpha had led the group to the trunk of the Crossroads. To their surprise, there was an opening, hidden due to the inner crystals matching that of the tree’s outer shell, thus forming the illusion of a solid barrier. Through the opening was a _huge_ stairway, spiraling around the trunk, going both up and down.

 

Yamamoto whistled appreciatively. “Wooow,” the baseball player said in awe. “Impressive.”

 

“Yup!” Alpha agreed. “And not just structurally! There’s a lot of beauty _unseen_ too!”

 

“Um, yeah… I’m sure… but...” Nami spoke spoke up hesitantly. “Judging from how high up we are and the angle the stairs… won’t it take us the rest of the day to get down?”

 

“Ah! That’s where the unseen beauty comes in!” the white-coated man said as he held a finger up. “For you see, just as these stairs are immaculately carved, so are they immaculately enchanted!”

 

“WOW!” Luffy exclaimed. “MAGIC!?”

 

“Eh? What’s so special about that?” Natsu asked in confusion.

 

“Well, Pinky-”

 

“IT’S NATSU!”

 

“Sorry, Natsu!” Alpha chuckled in embarrassment. “Anyways, Strawhat McMoron-”

 

“IT’S LUFFY!”

 

“Sorry, _Luffy_ is from the Blue Seas. Though they have Devil Fruits, there’s no other form of magic, only pure skill! Well… there might be a Magic-Magic Paramecia or Logia fruit, but...” Alpha shrugged indifferently. “Who knows.”

 

Robin blinked in surprise. “It appears that you have a fair amount of knowledge on our world.”

 

He raised his hands and shrugged again. “Eh, as I said, I’ve been around awhile, I know all of yours and more. At the least, I know enough so that I trust you more _because_ you’re pirates, _not_ marines,” He scowled and growled under his breath. “Believe you me, anyone who opposes the World Government and Nobles is a friend of mine.”

 

Some made to question him, but they were cut off when he shook his head and gave a large, surprisingly honest smile. “Ah, I’m digressing! Anyways, yes, the enchantments! I’m not entirely certain of how the details on how they work, but the gist of it is that they fold space, compacting the stairs so that people going up and down can make the journey in about an hour. Nifty, huh?”

 

There was a general sound of agreement, prompting Alpha to wave ahead. “Glad to hear it! Now then, come on! In the words of a great man and friend, allons-y!”

 

Once again, the group moved, moving down the stairs. As they went down, there were cries of awe as they observed the inner walls of the tree. Like the pillars that had brought them to where they were, colors, shapes and lights shifted and blurred within the walls, a myriad of mirage-esque images trapped within.

 

“Amazing...” Negi breathed. “Alpha, who _created_ this... this _monument_? _”_

 

Alpha glanced over his shoulder, an unreadable expression on his face. “Who said someone did?”

 

Tsuna’s jaw dropped open in shock. “Y-y-you mean you-?”

 

“Found it? Basically, yeah. A long time back. Way before my time, anyways. The people who found it were the ones who carved these stairs out, _and_ figured out how to harness the tree.”

 

“Harness it?” Maka asked.

 

Alpha nodded. “Yup, harness. See, this tree… it’s called the Crossroads for a reason. Has anyone ever heard of Yggdrasil?”

 

“Hmm... Yggdrasil... oh, I remember!” To the DWMA student’s surprise, it was Liz who spoke up. “The world tree, right? Supposed to signify the life force of all existence, roots and branches reaching between worlds, right?”

 

“Correct.”

 

“Wow, Liz!” Maka exclaimed. “That’s incredible! Where did you learn that?”

 

The Thompson sister scowled and jabbed her thumb at her meister. “Kidd forced me and Patty to read up on Norse mythology when we went to deal with Nidhogg.” She growled venomously.

 

Death the Kidd was unrepentant. “I merely felt it best to have as much information as possible in case of any eventuality.”

 

“THAT DAMN SHIP WASN’T EVEN _CLOSE_ TO A DRAGON, YOU IDIOT!” Liz screamed furiously.

 

Kidd shrugged indifferently. “Maybe, but who knows? The success or failure of the mission could very well have depended on our knowledge.”

 

“THE MISSION FAILED BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID OBSESSION!”

 

Patty was cackling madly as she walked along. “Heeheehee! Yeah! You went ZOOM! In the wrong way!”

 

“Umm…” Liz and Kidd looked over their shoulders and saw Chrona, who was glancing down sadly. “I’m… sorry about what happened… back then…”

 

“Aww, it’s alright!” Chrona flinched in surprise as Patty wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “You just made a mistake, that’s all! It wasn’t your fault, we don’t blame you! You’re our friend!”

 

“Well in that case, don’t mind if I do!” Ragnarok burst out of Chrona’s back and smirked widely, exposing all his teeth. “We kicked your asses! We kicked your asses! We kicked your asses! Gyahahaha!” he cackled madly.

 

“R-ragnarok!” Chrona weakly protested.

 

“Heeeeey Ra~gnaro~k...” Patty singsonged.

 

“Hm?” The black-blood being glanced down at her.

 

Patty’s smile was pure evil, filled with malice and promised pain. _“Shut your goddamn mouth before I permanently shut it for you, got it ya damn bastard?”_ she growled, darkness surrounding her in an aura of evil.

 

Ragnarok clamped his jaws shut and nodded hastily.

 

Once again, a single thought ran through the heads of most of the people present.

 

_‘Scary...’_

 

Liz was one of the few unaffected. She merely rolled her eyes and sighed at her sister’s antics. “Anyways, you were saying, Alpha?... Alpha?” She repeated the question when she notice that he was staring intently at her sister.

 

The man flinched and quickly smiled again. “Ah, right, sorry, lost in my thoughts.”

 

“Riiiight...” Liz conceded, not entirely convinced. ‘ _What was that look in his eyes? Surprise_?’

 

“We’ve digressed. As I was saying: Yggdrasil. That legend is based on the Crossroads. This tree’s roots and branches extend out into the multiverse, and it certainly signifies the world we are in, the Nexus. For you see, the Nexus is a truly unique world!”

 

“Really? How so?” Negi questioned.

 

“Well...” Alpha waved his hand in the air. “The Nexus is as it’s name proclaims: a nexus of worlds. It is constructed out of the overlapping parts of many worlds, held together by the Crossroads. And, it’s growing.”

 

“Seriously!?” Luffy asked in surprise.

 

“Well, what did you expect?” Alpha queried. “The Crossroads _is_ a tree. Crystal or wood, trees grow. And as the Crossroads grow, so too does the number of worlds it is connected to, and so too does the Nexus. Lemme tell ya, it makes the atlas a freaking nightmare… anyways, the people who discovered the tree studied it, and discovered how to use it to enter the myriad of worlds it was connected to. Heck, they even learned how to perform interdimensional travel on their own!”

 

Evangeline whistled appreciatively. “Not bad. Inter-world interactions are tough. Quite an endeavour.”

 

“Yeah...” Alpha was silent for a second as his mood soured and he bowed his head. “Still though,” he continued morosely. “It’s far safer to use the Crossroads. As accurate as interdimensional travel has become, there’s always a chance that the connection can be broken, and the world lost. And if that happens...” he sighed sadly. “There are a _lot_ of worlds out there. The chances of finding that one world again... astronomical. We learned that lesson the hard way when the Thirteenth Legion was lost.”

 

It was impossible to miss the sadness present in Alpha’s voice as he spoke.

 

“Who were the Thirteenth Legion?” Hitsugaya asked quietly.

 

Alpha flinched and rubbed the back of his neck. “A very bad memory. Look, the point is, the Order was shown that no matter how reliable any methods we come up with are, they will _always_ pale in comparison to the Crossroads. The Crossroads are invincible, a connection to it cannot be severed. Once a world is discovered by means other than the Crossroads, we link it up as soon as possible, few to no exceptions,” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “Look, this is an... uncomfortable subject, can we just keep walking? We’re almost out.”

 

The group continued in a somber silence for some time before the silence was finally broken.

 

“Alpha,” May asked quietly, “Why does the… Order... use other means of travel if they’re so risky?” Her pet Xiao-Mei nodded in agreement.

 

The man sighed and shrugged helplessly. “Because, despite the risks, the rewards are far too great. As useful as the Crossroads are, a lot of people are lured in by dreams of independence, of gaining new knowledge. Besides, the Crossroads tend to grow a bit fast on their own, and vetting worlds for connections to the Nexus is time consuming. People are impatient, so they use their own ways to find what they want. There’s usually no harm... for the most part,” he finished morosely.

 

A silence blanketed the group of misfits for but a few moments before Luffy tore the silence apart. “I’m hungry, how much longer until we can eat?”

 

Alpha’s eye twitched for a second before he glanced over his shoulder, a sickeningly false smile on his face. “Nami, was it? You seem like a sane person, would you mind...?”

 

“Way ahead of you.”

 

SLAM!

 

“OW! NAMI!”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Still, Luffy’s outburst did manage to break some of the tension, resulting in the rest of the trip down the stairs being filled with raucous laughter and conversation ranging from heated to casual.

 

Suddenly, the conversation was cut off when Alpha came to a sudden halt. “We’re here.”

 

The group had reached the foot of the stairs, ending in a huge, open atrium. Impressed into the trunk of the tree itself were two large pairs of double doors: one pure white with a pair of angelic wings imprinted upon them, the other pitch black and bearing bat-like wings. Opposite the doors, leading out of the Crossroads was a towering arch, carved straight into the walls of the tree itself. Runes covered the pillars, and the inside was filled with shifting lights.

 

“So...” Maka asked tentatively. “What are those two doors supposed to be?”

 

Alpha gave the doors an unreadable look before shrugging. “The Memorial and the Mortuary, white and black, respectively. The prior I can tell you about later, and the latter...” His mood darkened visibly. “The latter is currently of no concern.”

 

“Er, right...”

 

Alpha flinched as he realized his choice of words left a lot to be desired, courtesy and politeness being two of them. “Sorry, it’s just that the Mortuary is a _really_ dangerous subject, so we try to keep it under wraps,” He spun around on his heel to face the crowd again, clapping his hands together. “Anyways! Before we go out there, I just need to ask: does anyone here have any issues with individuals of a non-human nature? Meaning, not even remotely human in any way.”

 

The people present muttered between themselves for a second before everyone nodded to themselves, eerily enough at the same time. Most shrugged, while others said nothing. Anko said only, “Whatever.”

 

Chopper raised his hoof. “I think the point is kind of moot with me.”

 

Alpha sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. Believe me, no better way of getting an entire crowd to turn a cold shoulder than someone being a racist prick. Still though, just do me a favor and try not to stare.” He turned around and began walking towards the exit.

 

As the crowd followed him, Kagome managed to ask a final question. “Why? They’ll find it offensive?”

 

To the surprise of many, Alpha’s response was to let out a bark of laughter. He stopped inches away from the light. “No, worse,” he shot a wry grin over his shoulder. “They’ll try and show off.”

 

And with that, they left the Crossroads.

 

The crowd came to a sudden halt, all but forced to stare at the sight before them.

 

They had emerged into a scene of controlled anarchy as a wave of sight, sound, smell and in cases even taste, struck them in the face like a shower of bricks.

 

People, or rather, beings, of all shapes and sizes, some recognisable, others completely alien but identifiable, and still more that defined description in any meaningful way.

 

There were angelic beings with feathered wings and pale features and people with leathery bat wings and darker complexions. These people were often in the company of each other, either with opposing genders or similar, despite their obviously contrasting imagery. The angelic people looked and acted prim and proper, like they were nobility, while the demonic individuals acted far more laid back, casual and emotional.

 

Some seemed to be amalgamations of man and animal. The ratio of features varied from one individual to another, some bearing more humanoid aspects with animal features, and others were more like animals in humanoid bodies. There was also a clear divide in the creatures: some of them, mainly mammals, fish and birds, were wearing casual clothing composed of leather and cloth, along with some lighter forms of armor like chestplates and gauntlets while the ones who were part insect, reptile and amphibian, all seemed to be wearing a form of heavy armor one way or another, be it a full-blown suit or just a metal-plated arm or other limb.

 

Other people were less... defined, per say. There were clusters of people throughout the crowd, linked by the fact that their clothing styles seemed to match one another in a form of elemental motif. There were six styles in all: fiery crimson, aquatic blue, windy white and light grey, earthen brown, electric yellow, and darker metallic grey.

 

Perhaps the more shocking individuals in the crowd were the automatons. Androids of varying shapes, forms and sizes. What they all held in common was that they were composed of a brown, bronze-ish metal, with gears and clockwork innards showing at their joints and cameras of various glowing colors in their eye sockets.

 

And finally, there were the mythological creatures. All forms, of varying shapes and sizes. Proud, confident elves, noble centaurs, lamia supported on long, winding tails, heavily-armored minotaurs, even a dragon or too parting the crowd around them as they walked.

 

And on and on, a true myriad of beings.

 

The courtyard itself was massive, extending a fair distance around the Crossroads. The crowd ebbed and flowed like a living thing, all manners of people and individuals interacting with each other casually, not even sparing a glance to what others would deem as insanity. Some just chatted, others had heated debates, and there were even a few vendors with carts running fairly lucrative businesses.

 

On the edge of the plaza were a pair of massive arches, towering high above the crowd. The sights held within the arches contrasted with the landscape behind them.

 

Through the one on the left was a thriving metropolis of brass and bronze, skyscrapers interlinked by pipes, with massive cogs and gears poking out of the walls. The ground itself was made of metal, and the robots were more numerous in the arch, though a good part of the crowd flowed into it.

 

The arch on the right led to a more... arid city. The buildings were shorter, made of stone, and the air visibly shimmered from the sun shining down upon it. The road was made of dust and stone, and sand seemed to cake the city. Perhaps the most noticeable feature was the monolithic pillar of rock that seemed to engulf the horizon, rising high and out of sight due to the arch’s constraints from the perspective they were in.

 

Beyond the two arches was the strange, mismatched metropolis known as hub city. Hi-tech, low-tech, and what was obviously magic mixed liberally. Skyscrapers, normal houses and everything between could be seen.

 

The group of foreigners was stunned, to say the absolute least.

 

Panther Lily gaped openly at the thriving crowd. “This is... surreal.”

 

Gajeel nodded numbly in agreement, watching a towering mechanical being slowly pick it’s way through the living mass, “You can say that again.”

 

Sanji giggled happily as he oggled a pair of catwomen, one covered in fur and one only with ears and a tail saunter by, “Oh it’s surreal alright. Heck, I’d even go so far as to say it’s paradise!” He all but swooned when the two beastwomen blinked at him and giggled mischievously.

 

Miroku smirked in agreement, throwing an arm around the cook’s shoulder, “Truly, my friend, we have reached the promised land. As they say, good things come to those who-”

 

SHINK!

 

“URK!”

 

He cut himself off hastily as he nervously eyed the blade Sango was holding beneath his throat, “I’m sorry, would you care to repeat that?” Her fiancé hastily shook his head. “I didn’t think so.”

 

Shino readjusted his glasses a bit as he watched a trio of what appeared to be bipedal human-sized ants scurry by, “This is all very intriguing. Why? Because there are most likely many new things to discover.”

 

Kanda grunted in agreement, slowly scanning the crowd and glaring at whoever met his eyes. Some flinched, others returned the glare equally. And a few even forced him to avert his eyes first, “This is one hell of a place.”

 

Hibari also scanned the crowd, intently analyzing everyone he laid eyes on, picking apart their weaponry, their armor, any outward signs of experience. His lips drew back into a terrifying smile, “Herbivores and carnivores. A whole new hunting ground.”

 

Greed cackled maniacally, slapping the prefect’s back casually, “You said it, kid! Just don’t get too ambitious, you hear? This world is all _mine.”_

 

Hibari glared at the madly grinning man for a moment before scowling and returning to scanning the crowd.

 

Tsubaki was unable to observe the scenery as intently as the others due to being... erstwhile occupied, “BlackStar! Please calm down! I know that you want to give a speech, but now isn’t the right time!”

 

“But Tsubaki! How else are they supposed to learn of the greatness that is ME!?”

 

“BlackStar!”

 

Kasumi giggled like a madwoman as she snapped picture after picture like clockwork, “Forget the school paper! I’m aiming bigger! The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Daily Mail! By the time I’m done, I’m going to be the _queen_ of journalism! My one sole regret before I die will be that I didn’t have more memory space!”

 

Sayo sighed sadly as she rested her head in her palm, “I wish she didn’t get like this every time she smelled a scoop...”

 

Rukia’s eyes widened in surprise as many people looked not just at her but at the other Soul Reapers and Sayo as well, “They can see us?! But how? Is everyone’s spiritual power that high or-?”

 

“Nah,” Alpha interrupted, “It’s more like the world itself has enough spiritual power to compensate. The place you know as the Mortal Realm actually has very low levels of magic in the air, as well as its inhabitants. The difference in power levels means that higher beings of power, like anyone from another world or a soul, is effectively invisible. But everywhere else? The magic is high enough so that you can be seen. Smile, you’re technically not a ghost anymore!”

 

Rukia’s eye twitched at the man’s nonchalantness, “First, before you get a chance to nickname me, my name is Rukia. And second... you do realize you just tore down one of the founding principles of my existence in a few words, correct?”

 

Alpha smiled casually at her, “What can I say? This job has it’s perks. Not enough to keep me from retiring though. Anyways!” He clapped his hands together, drawing attention to himself, “We aren’t going to be getting anywhere standing around! Come on, follow me, stick close together, and _try_ not to get in any trouble. I know that there’s high chances it won’t work, but a guy can dream.”

 

He started walking forward into the crowd, the rest of the group following behind them.

 

Alpha appeared to be an expert at moving through the throngs of people. The crowd flowed around the foreigners easily, without any risk of splitting them up. As they walked, the group overheard snippets of conversations going on around them.

 

“-and now he wants me able to purify a _two-_ ton boulder with my bare hands by the end of the week.” “Yeesh, that’s harsh! Can’t you ask him for something lighter or-?” “Nah, it’s training, no pain no gain. And considering what he did and has done for me, it’s not like I can feasibly say no...”

 

“-so I says to the guy, ‘half the loot and no less,’ and _he_ says that he’s not going any higher than a third cause me and my ‘wimpy bow’ didn’t do much else than distract the damn bastards!” “Seriously!? So what’d ya do?” “I took the third... then I followed him home and took the rest while he was sleeping!” “HA! Nice one, but I think I can top it! Alright, so I’m tracking this ent, right? And-”

 

“- _half_ the place shut down! Can you believe it? _Half_ of an entire _Citadel!_ Man, once we manage to rectify the power fluctuations, I’ll bet you anything that it’ll be standard equipment.” “Geeze, that’s powerful. Sometimes you Gearheads scare me, you know that?” “Oh _we_ scare you? Please, I’ve been to the Orichalcum testing fields! I’ve seen some practice fires! You Rune-slingers have _just_ as many weapons as us! Remember that one that turned an _entire-”_

 

“So we’ve got the beta-quadrant for most of the day. Clan Water said that things’ll be free and clear there for a good while, but that Clan Air will be passing a storm front they’re developing over us around noon, so we’ll either need to be careful or go deep enough it can’t affect us. What about you? Anything on your end?” “Ship shape. I got us some guys. We’ll need to swing by Aguasala to pick them up.” “Aguasala? That’s a Fed port. They any good?” “Mostly amphibian. A few scale-tails, but they’re all aquatic. I think they can handle it.” “Really? Well, alright then...”

 

“- _know_ you cheated!” _“What!?_ Oh come on! You can’t hold that against me! That’s the entire point of the _game!”_ “Yeah, when it’s a game of _skill!_ Look, just pay me, will you? Then I’ll leave you alone!” “Ah, see... there’ a problem with that.” “...where did you get that new hat?” “Weeeell...” _“Oh come on!”_

 

“I’m telling you, it takes a lot of skill! Finesse!” “What ‘finesse’!? All you do is _bash_ people with your shield while you flail around like an idiot!” “Oh, and that massive slab of metal you call a sword is any better? I happen to remember kicking your ass tons of times!” “And every time I’ve gotten back at you ten fold!” “Well now, what say we do it one more time, huh?” “Oh you took the words right out of my mouth!” “Come on, bitch!” “Bring it, asshole!”

 

“Serya! Manus!” Alpha shouted over the din of the crowd.

 

One of the white and black duos nearby, an angelic woman wielding a six-foot long claymore and a demonic man holding a large rectangular tower shield who were squaring off, snapped their heads around to glare at the person who’d interrupted them, “What!?” They hollered simultaneously.

 

Alpha jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, “Take it to a training field. If you start something here, there’s a good chance you’ll start something that somebody else will finish. Got it?”

 

The two had the courtesy to blush as they noticed the other members of the crowd leering eagerly at them, cracking their knuckles and toying with their weapons eagerly, sheathed or otherwise, “Got it, Alpha!” And with that, they walked off into the crowd, glaring at each other the entire way.

 

The white-clad man sighed, shaking his head tiredly, “And they’re usually so sweet with each other too.”

 

Orihime tilted her head in confusion, “Was that a lover’s quarrel?”

 

Alpha shuddered violently, “Heavens forbid. No, they’re more like... companions, I suppose. Blood siblings? Eh, you get the gist.”

 

Ino looked around the crowd, noting how close the other black and white pairs were. “Is it that way with all of... what are they exactly?”

 

“The white ones are called Orderlings, and the black ones Chaoslings. They’re from the U.K.O.C. The United Kingdoms of Order and Chaos. And yes, that’s how it is for most of them. Some of them might actually be lovers, or just friends with benefits. But still, they’re close. You see- wait hang on a second. Hey, Ixar! You got a minute?”

 

The group suddenly became aware of just how active Alpha had been. Like he had said, it seemed like every person in the crowd knew him. Every minute he was walking, someone was either talking with him or showing him something or he was talking to someone else.

 

His face was a river of emotions and expressions, constantly shifting. Sometimes he was stern and serious, other times he was laughing and joking, and even at other times he was angry, or understanding, or pensive. It was hard to pin him down, it was like he adapted to every situation almost perfectly.

 

Anko whistled appreciatively under her breath, “Damn, that’s impressive.”

 

Rangiku gave her newfound drinking buddy a curious look, “Oh? How come?”

 

The trench-coat wearing kunoichi shrugged. “The way he’s handling himself. It’s seriously professional. Going from zip to full blast on an emotion is one thing, pulling a one eighty almost instantaneously is something else. Takes a lot of practice. I’m not saying he’s lying, but the way he’s handling everyone... it’s seriously something.”

 

Rangiku gave Anko a sidelong leer, “Oh? And I take it you have experience in infiltration?”

 

Anko returned the grin all too eagerly, “Oh yeah. In case you hadn’t guessed, seduction is a favorite of mine.”

 

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Oh no, I never would have considered that.” He drawled.

 

Anko and Rangiku exchanged a glance before sharing a devilish smile.

 

Before Hitsugaya could react, he was lifted off his feet and his head was pressed between four mounds of something very soft.

 

“Awww, does my poor captain not understand how adults work?” Rangiku crooned mournfully.

 

Anko snickered malevolently. “Maybe we should... _educate_ him.”

 

“MMMPH!” Hitsugaya struggled violently until he finally managed to dislodge himself from the grips of the women. Once on the ground, he gasped deeply, intent on swallowing as much air as he could. When he finally recovered, he rounded on the two women, “Do you have to do that every time Rangiku?”

 

“Aw…” Rangiku pouted, “Honestly Captain, what kind of a man are you? Anyone would be glad to be on the receiving end of such attention.”

 

Hitsugaya blushed as Anko started laughing and leaned against Rangiku, “I guess you’re still too much of a kid to fully appreciate a woman’s charms.”

 

As the two women laughed, Negi felt a pang of sympathy as his mind drifted back to a similar incident.

 

Asuna caught the look on his face, “You’d better not be thinking something perverted, brat.” She warned menacingly.

 

“Ah! No! I was thinking about that one beach vacation!” Negi quickly explained.

 

THWACK!

 

“WHAT DID I JUST SAY!?”

 

“But Asuna!”

 

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya felt a large amount of killing intent being directed at him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Miroku, Sanji, Brook, and Kiba glaring at him murderously. He returned the glare tenfold, “It’s not like I either asked for or _enjoyed_ that, you perverts!” The glares did not diminish.

 

Alpha rolled his eyes at the ongoings, a smile upon his lips, “Oh yeah, you guys are going to fit in just fine.” Suddenly, he blinked in surprise and looked upwards, “What the...?” He caught sight of something, paled, and took a step back, forcing the rest of the group to come to a halt.

 

THUMP!

 

Something fell straight out of the air and landed directly in front of Alpha unharmed. It was one of the insect people, a bipedal grasshopper. It had massive, multi-faceted orange eyes, fidgeting mandibles, and a pair of fidgeting antennae. It stood upon massive, powerful legs, and had wings twitching lightly on it’s back. It had two sets of arms, one in the usual place and one growing slightly posterior to it. It was covered in a sandy brown set of segmented armor.

 

It stood imperiously before Alpha, all four arms crossed behind it’s back, “Alpha.” It buzzed in a flanged, double-toned voice.

 

Alpha blinked in surprise before smiling and giving a lazy salute, “Trizax! It’s been awhile! How have things been?”

 

The insect didn’t react, staring intently at the man, “We need to talk.”

 

“Alright then!” Alpha gestured with his arm, moving to step around the bugman, “Come on, walk and talk.”

 

A segmented arm snapped out, pressing on the white-clad man’s chest, “No. Here. Now.”

 

Alpha frowned in concern and confusion at the grasshopper-like being, “That’s... not feasible. Sorry, but I’m kind of in the middle of something urgent, so-” He made to continue walking ahead.

 

Trizax snapped out his second arm, pressing it more forcefully into Alpha’s stomach, “So is this.” He intoned darkly.

 

The people following Alpha began to fall into combat stances, but were halted by Alpha raising a hand. He gave Trizax a worried look. “Listen, I’m sorry, but I need to handle these people. Once that’s done, I’m all yours.”

 

“That is unnecessary.” The overgrown grasshopper continued to stare dead ahead, directly at the members of the group.  “My business is with these individuals as well.”

 

Alpha’s head snapped to the side as he stared at Trizax in shock. _“What!?”_

 

Whispers ran throughout the small crowd as they glanced at each other and nervously eyed the insectoid.

 

The human chewed his lip hesitantly, “Trizax... these orders come from above. The Leaders themselves! Much as I wish I could, I can’t go against them. They need to come with me, asap. I’m sorry.”

 

Trizax was silent, turning his head to stare at Alpha silently before bowing his head deeply. “So am I.”

 

Alpha relaxed instantly, “Thank you! Now look, maybe we can meet up at the Den later or-”

 

“Not what I’m sorry for.”

 

Alpha’s face clouded with confusion for a moment... before paling in abject horror, “Wait, Trizax, _don’t-!”_

 

Too late.

 

The grasshopper had brought his opposite arms together, armored wrist to armored wrist, and before Alpha could stop them, rubbed them together viciously, producing a violent, rasping sound.

 

Several members of the group with more acute hearing winced, doubling over as the sound screeched against their ears. Others tensed as the crowd surrounding them suddenly parted. They’d been giving them space before, but now the group was an island in the masses.

 

“What the hell...?” Darius muttered, instinctively getting back to back with Heinkel.

 

 _“DON’T FIGHT THEM!”_ The group was shocked when Alpha suddenly shouted, fear and concern evident in his voice, “NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, _DON’T_ FIGHT! THEY’LL ONLY ATTACK IF YOU STRIKE FIRST! JUST DON’T GIVE THEM CAUSE TO ATTACK!”

 

Mana glanced around, scanning the area as she unslung her rifle from her back, “What is he talking about?”

 

Zazie stopped juggling and pointed up into the air, her expression remaining neutral, “Them.”

 

Mana followed her finger, “Wha-?” Her pupils dilated as she caught sight of something approaching at breakneck speeds, “Oh _shi-!”_

 

CRASH!

 

Ten plumes of dust and smoke erupted simultaneously around the group as several objects impacted with the ground.

 

Gokudera shifted his position so as to shield Tsuna, several sticks of dynamite in his clutches, “What the hell?”

 

Alpha swallowed heavily, staring worriedly at the smoke clouds, “Hoppers...”

 

Almost as in response, a noise erupting from all the clouds simultaneously.

 

_“SKREEEE!”_

 

As the dust settled, several shapes began to take form.

 

Most of the group reacted in horror and fear, while others tensed at what they saw.

 

They appeared to be insect men like Trizax, but they were... _different._ For starters, they were _huge!_ Each of them easily hitting eight feet. They were clad in a dark, mud-brown armor. They had large, muscular legs and four taloned arms. But the most disturbing part of them were their heads.

 

They were twitching, whipping to and fro as they stared emotionlessly at the group, snapping into different positions faster than most could follow. And their mouths... instead of having mandibles like the other insectoids, they had metal faceplates split straight up the middle in a jagged line. Chitters and chirps occasionally came from them as they jerked erratically.

 

Chopper swallowed heavily, instinctively clutching at a Rumble Ball in his pocket, “W-what are they!?”

 

Maka’s breathing quickened as she took a step back from them. Soul clutched her hand hastily, “Maka? What’s wrong?”

 

“T-their souls...”

 

“Huh?”

 

“T-they don’t have any souls!”

 

“What!? But, they’re alive!”

 

“And that’s all they are.” Trizax stated monotonously, “Hoppers are living weapons. You see, Locustmen went extinct a long time ago. However, several years back, we were able to recover a viable DNA sample. The Locusts were less than sentient, so we restructured their genetics a bit and began to breed them.”

 

“Yeah, as _super-soldiers!”_ Alpha interjected angrily, “Trizax, Hoppers are meant as tactical weaponry, crowd control, things like that! This? This is overkill!”

 

“Maybe so,” The grasshopper admitted, “but I need you and your wards to remain present. The Hoppers act as incentive to that end. Should any of them try and resist...” He snapped his clawed fingers together.

 

One of the Hoppers snapped it’s head forward. It’s faceplate split open, revealing a gruesome set of jaws composed of grasping mandibles and teeth as it screeched viciously, “SKREEEE!”

 

“HEY, WATCH IT!”

 

CRUNCH! SMASH!

 

Before anyone could react, Luffy had snapped his fist out and straight into the bio-weapon’s face, sending it flying into the crowd and crashing into a nearby cart.

 

The pirate captain huffed angrily as he stood protectively in front of Chopper, “Don’t mess with my crew.” He turned around and looked at the reindeer, “Hey, Chopper, you alright?”

 

Chopper nodded hesitantly for a second... then paled drastically when a figure appeared behind Luffy, a fist raised high in the air, “LUFFY! LOOK OUT!”

 

Luffy glanced behind himself before vanishing into thin air, moments before a fist rammed through the space he’d been occupying and buried itself in the ground. He appeared behind the figure, steam trailing off of him.

 

And he wasn’t alone, either, “Hey, watch it!” Natsu yelled, igniting his palms.

 

Naruto nodded in agreement, a pair of kunai held ready, “Yeah! Leave him alone!”

 

But before any of them could react...

 

“NO! STOP!” Alpha shouted, running to place himself between the three and the figure.

 

Luffy stopped himself short, the steam ceasing almost immediately, “Alpha...”

 

“Look, just... no more, alright!?” Alpha demanded, “No fighting...”

 

With things starting to calm down, the rest of the group was finally able to catch sight of the figure.

 

Nami gasped in shock, “What the _hell!?”_

 

It was the Hopper Luffy had hit. It’s neck was twisted at an odd angle, and most of the chitin that composed it’s face was cracked and shattered, streams yellow ichor seeping out of it’s wounds.

 

Before their eyes that all changed.

 

Slowly, with a great amount of cracking and crunching, the creature’s neck righted itself, slowly straightening out. It’s chitin crunched and snapped as the cracks in it’s face slowly closed, leaving only the ichor on it’s face and the rage in it’s eyes as the only signs it had ever been injured.

 

“As I said, it’s a bio-weapon,” Alpha scowled, “Advanced regeneration and redundant systems are all a part of the package.” He turned to glare at the as of yet unmoved grasshopper, “Which, again, _is overkill!”_

 

“Then let me do my job and this will be over and done with!” The bugman reprimanded.

 

The two stared at each other for a moment before Alpha finally bowed his head, “Fine. What are you here for?”

 

Trizax returned his stare to the group, sweeping his multi-faceted gaze over them, “Someone in this crowd is saturating the air with pheromones. _Insect_ pheromones.”

 

Alpha’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks, _“Pheromones!?”_ He screeched in disbelief. “We’re dealing with pheromones and you called in _Hoppers!?_ Do any neurons fire in that thick-plated head of yours when I call you insane!? You _know_ what pheromones do to Hoppers!”

 

“And _you_ know what they do to insect beastmen in general!” He shot back venomously, “The only reason I was allowed to handle this situation is because I’m immune. Now listen up!”

 

He raised his voice to be heard, “To whosoever is utilizing the pheromones! I commend you on spreading it enough to mask yourself, but by Desert Confederacy law, the usage of widespread insect pheromones in a public forum outside of combat is _illegal_ because of the threat it poses to the general populace. Should you cease production now, all charges will be dropped. Continue to do so...”

 

Trizax swept his eyes over the increasingly agitated Locustmen, “And we will apprehend you by force. The choice is yours.”

 

Mutterings ran throughout the crowd.

 

“Um, Kiba...” Hinata whispered hesitantly, “D-did he just say... _insect_ pheromones?”

 

The Inuzuka heir nodded in agreement, “Yeah... you don’t think...?”

 

They both began to glance over their shoulders.

 

“If you even think of looking at me, I’ll give you both fleas for a month.”

 

The shinobi snapped their heads straight ahead, shivers running down their spines.

 

“Look!” Alpha shouted over the noise, “Whoever’s doing it, you don’t _have_ to completely stop if you can’t! Just restrict it to about one or two feet around you and try to stay away from any bugmen. Pheromone usage is only illegal if it poses a public threat, right Trizax?”

 

The grasshopper nodded in agreement, “Yes. So long as the output lessens, then all will be forgiven.”

 

“See? Just don’t clog the air, and we can all carry on our merry old way.”

 

For the longest time, things remained tense. The Hoppers shivered and shuddered, the foreigners prepped for a fight, and Alpha held his breath. Finally...

 

The Hoppers stopped jerking and instead straightened up, standing ramrod straight with their hands clasped behind their backs like tin soldiers.

 

Trizax let out a sigh of relief, “The pheromones are gone. All clear.”

 

Most of the crowd seemed to relax almost instantly.

 

Alpha ran his hand over his face, sighing in relief, “Thank Existence...” He slowly turned his head to stare at the armored grasshopper, “Now... do me a favor, will you? Get out of my way.”

 

Trizax nodded, “Very well then.” He scraped his wrists together again, letting out a short, sharp rasp.

 

The Hoppers disappeared simultaneously, kicking up clouds of dust as they went.

 

The insect man looked back at Alpha, it’s mandibles somewhat drooping, “I’m... sorry it came to that, Alpha. I was just doing what I had to for my people. Can we discuss it over drinks at the Den?”

 

Alpha sighed tiredly, shaking his head. “Maybe some other day, Trizax. But for now...” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the one Hopper that remained, “Shouldn’t this one be gone too?”

 

Trizax’s chitinous face shifted into something like a frown, his antennae twitching frantically, “It... should be... I gave the retreat signal.” Trizax tried scratching his gauntlets together again, this time with a different pitch to it.

 

The Hopper ignored him. Instead, it slowly stepped around Alpha and strode up to Luffy in a few ground-eating strides.

 

Luffy raised his fists, readying for a fight.

 

The hopper raised a fist, extended a finger... and shoved it into it’s own face, directly above it’s right eye.

 

The onlookers watched in horror as it drove the finger in up to the first knuckle, not displaying any outward signs of pain. It then dragged it’s claw down, carving through the chitin around it’s eye and straight down to it’s faceplate. Ichor oozed from the fissure for a moment before halting, but the wound did not heal.

 

Instead, the Hopper leaned down, lowering itself until it was directly face to face with Luffy.

 

It’s faceplate cracked open slightly, allowing it to speak in a scratchy, raspy voice.

 

“Will... be... back...”

 

And with that, it disappeared like its brethren.

 

Trizax gave out a low, keening groan, slapping two of his hands over his face. “Great, now he’s gained sentience! Looks like you got your revenge, Alpha! _I_ have a date with paperwork.”

 

Alpha chuckled grimly, “Well, what can I say? Karma! She’s a helluva bitch.”

 

Trizax let out what _had_ to be several curses in a clicking language.

 

They must have been very severe, because Alpha threw his hands up defensively and exclaimed, “Whoa whoa, that’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

 

“Fuck. You.”

 

Maka was dumbstruck, staring at the spot where the Hopper had just been, “I-Its soul...”

 

“Huh?” Soul blinked in surprise, “I thought you said those things didn’t _have_ souls?”

 

“They didn’t! But that one, the one that cut itself, i-it just... _got_ one somehow!”

 

“ _What_!? But how’s that possible?!”

 

“Miracle of life!” Alpha exclaimed. “Sometimes semi-intelligent objects or beings spontaneously begin developing sentience and acquire the start of a soul! Happens all the time.”

 

Allan frowned, folding his arms, “And what will happen to him?”

 

Alpha shrugged noncommittally,”Eh, same old, same old. He’ll go into the program: counseling about his emotions, learning about taking responsibility, taking a name, the whole nine yards. After that, he’s free to do whatever he feels like. Maybe he’ll stay with the other Hoppers, maybe he’ll go forth and venture, who the hell knows?”

 

“Considering how the first thing he did was threaten Luffy, I can guess.” Nami growled.

 

Alpha frowned, biting his thumb for a second in thought before sighing and turning to face the pirate captain, “Fair point. In my opinion, he’ll hold a grudge against you, probably hold you up as someone to be remembered, a goal to surmount. I doubt he’ll try and murder you, but he’ll definitely be looking forwards to ways to fighting you.”

 

Luffy grinned widely, pounding his fist into his palm. “I’ll be ready.”

 

Trizax scoffed. “One lucky punch and he thinks he can take a Hopper? They get dumber every generation.”

 

“Still pissed at you, larvafucker!”

 

“Right! Leaving! Later!” And with that, the grasshopper leapt to somewhere else in a plume dust and minor debris.

 

General Armstrong huffed angrily, “You’re just going to let him hop away like that?”

 

Alpha shrugged, “What can I say? The guy was just doing his job. No one got hurt, a new life has entered the world, and we’ve stopped any embarrassing situations before they could begin. In my opinion, this little debacle turned out for the better!”

 

Erza crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow tentatively. “So... do things like that happen often?”

 

Alpha raised his hands equally as he turned around and started to walk forwards. “Eh, so and so. It was basically just an officer of the law stopping someone to ask them to stop doing something potentially illegal lest they be written up. Sure, the Hoppers were a bit much, but still, it was all pretty routine. Now zombie attacks!” He raised a finger in the air triumphantly. “ _Those_ are rare! Almost never a zombie attack in dead city.”

 

He suddenly ran straight into a figure standing in front of him, forcing him to a halt. Seeing who it was, Alpha gaped openly at the odd person.

 

A humanoid figure, clad in rusty, destitute armor and wielding a chipped longsword. Its skin was an ashen gray, and green flames flickered within its mouth and empty eye sockets. Its face was gaunt, skeletal, with deep, sunken eyes and lipless jaws.

 

The figure tilted its head to the side, raising the top of its eye socket and brow ridge, “This just isn’t your day, is it?” it asked in a groaning voice.

 

Alpha sighed, hanging his head sadly. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you can call them off, is there?”

 

The figure shrugged regretfully. “Sorry, out of my hands.”

 

“Of course it is.”

 

Lenalee swallowed heavily as she eyed the figure. “Alpha? What’s going on?”

 

“Remember what I said about zombie attacks?”

 

“Yeeeeaaaaah?”

 

“Try and keep calm. We’re about to be detained by the living dead.”

 

And with that, the ground erupted.

 

Alpha sighed tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.

 

“And just two days left before retirement too...”

 

**To be continued...**

 


End file.
